Back to School
by WritePassion
Summary: Sam does a job for Jack that involves going back to school, while Michael sticks close to Fiona as the birth of their child nears. Meanwhile, things are not right with Esperanza, and Samuel. Another in the Sam/Yvette series.
1. Chapter 1

**Back to School**

By WritePassion

With Fiona due soon, Michael surprised everyone by taking a sabbatical from his work, proving to everyone once and for all the depth of his love for her. Sam knew his friend did it out of fear as well, after seeing what Yvette went through with Samuel. He couldn't blame him, because racing through the back streets of Miami with Yvette screaming in the back seat of the Charger while Sam delivered their son, as far as Sam was concerned, that was enough baby drama to last a lifetime. Fiona had two weeks left, so if it came now, it wouldn't be so bad. Still, Michael stayed close to home. This, of course, left Sam with a lot of free time on his hands. He tried taking some small jobs, but the lack of assistance from his friends made it less attractive.

When Jack called seeking a favor, he brightened up Sam's day. "I need your help, Axeman. I've got a two man job, and only one of me. Sasha doesn't want to get involved in my work, so I'm kind of stuck here."

"Well, what is it you need, Jack? Another body guard for a potential restraining order violation?"

Jack replied, hesitation in his voice. "No, this is bigger than that. Mind if I come over and we can talk about it?"

"Sure. Eve's not here right now. She and Sammy are having a play date with some other moms and kids at the park."

"Great. I'll be right there."

Jack arrived with a six pack of Sam's favorite beer, so Sam knew right away this had to be important enough for him to attempt to bribe his friend. They took a couple seats out on the front porch and enjoyed the cooler weather. Sam twisted the cap off his bottle, heard Jack sigh heavily as he did the same, and turned to him.

"Okay, what is it, Jack?"

"I'm doing this as a favor for a neighbor, Carl Larkin. He's the principal at Chase Academy."

"Oh, that new charter school in the tough part of Coconut Grove."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, that's the place. It seems like they're having some trouble with a gang within the school, and they're threatening students, just creating little pockets of trouble. The cops don't seem to care much, as long as it doesn't escalate into a full-blown riot, but the parents…They've managed to keep it from them, but if word got out, there'd be a mass exodus from the school, because there are a lot of gifted kids who are there to learn, not cause trouble. Upper middle class kids, whose parents could pull them out and send them to a private school, except for the fact that this charter school was promised to be just as good, only free."

"And this is a two-man job because…." Sam eyed him. He had a feeling he knew what was coming. He and Jack worked together on the same SEAL team long enough to know, and he could read with ease his friend and his lame attempts at subtlety.

"One of us has to do the grunt work. And the other has to pose as a teacher. You're a leader, Axeman. You could go in there and work as a substitute…."

And there it was. "Now, wait just a second. What makes you think I can do that?"

"I know how you work with Esperanza teaching her stuff. You're a natural!"

"This is a lot different. We're talking high school kids, and they're a lot tougher than a six year old."

"You've worked with hard cases before." Jack sighed dramatically as he stretched out in the chair. "I really thought you'd be up to the challenge, man. I'm disappointed."

Sam growled low and took a long swig of his beer as he stared out across the front lawn. "Okay. Just one question."

"Shoot."

"Am I gonna have to wear a suit?"

Jack laughed. "No man, it's come as you are. The teachers dress pretty casual at that school, so there's no dressing up required." He ran his hand over his own chin as he glanced at Sam. "I'd, uh, lose the scruff though. Look a little more presentable."

"Heh, okay. How much are we making off this job anyway?"

"Ten grand…each." Jack smiled and opened his second beer. Sam was still working on his first.

"Wow. They're in pretty dire straights, huh?" He took another drink, giving his friend a little time to stew. He set his beer down on the table between them and said, "Okay, I'll do it. We start tomorrow?"

"Yep."

"And what are you going to do during all this?"

"Information gathering, whether that means hanging out as the janitor or poring over records, I'll be there."

Sam nodded. "And what exactly am I going to be teaching?"

"History." Jack pulled a thick hard bound book out of a sack beside his chair and dropped it on the table. It shook the furniture and nearly caused Sam's beer to tip over. "American History."

"Hey, now that I can deal with!" His eyes lit up as he hefted the book, opened it, and found a sticky note attached to a page. "Ah, here we are." He read the writing. "Think I can just be myself for this one, or do we need Chuck Finley?"

"No, for this one you're Mr. Axe, substitute history teacher."

"Well, I better start reading. This note says that they have chapters ten through thirteen to read before tomorrow, so I've got to get busy. Espie will be home in a couple hours, so until then, it's going to be quite an afternoon!"

"You're gonna need this too. It's the roster and seating chart for your classes." Jack gave him a thin notebook before he stood and shook Sam's hand. "Thanks a lot, Axeman. I really appreciate this!"

"No problem, Jack. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, let's meet for coffee before you go to the school. They want to see you at 0730. We'll meet at 0700. You know the place."

Sam nodded. "I'll be there."

After Jack left, Sam took the books upstairs to his office and started reading. It didn't take as long as he thought it would to get through the chapters. American History wasn't quite as rich and detailed as when he was in high school, which left him more than a little disappointed. He tapped a pen on a page, flipped back to the beginning of chapter ten, and took notes as he reread the period between the 80s and 90s...in the eighteenth century, that is. This was one area in which he wasn't as well versed, and what he read gave him a bunch of battles and conflicts, but not much else. He would need to do some research beyond the history book.

Sam had a habit of throwing himself into an assignment that really piqued his interest. Try as he might to scoff at Jack's need for him to act as a substitute teacher, by the time Esperanza's feet ran up the stairs, he'd thrown himself head-first into the job and prepared a lesson that would knock their socks off. He almost couldn't wait to show up at the school tomorrow and give those kids a taste of some real history, not the stale, boring stuff lying on the pages within the textbook.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Michael and Fiona arrived at Sam and Yvette's on time for dinner. Fiona carried a bowl filled with a salad, balancing it on her swollen belly. She glowed from head to toe, ecstatic despite the discomforts of pregnancy. Thankfully, she and Yvette kept their pregnancy stories for after dinner, when Sam and Michael retreated to the back yard and the kids played. They sat on the porch steps and watched Samuel run for the slide and propel himself almost to the top before he slid back down. He giggled, stepped off, and tried again. And again.

Shaking his head, Michael leaned his elbows back on the top step. "That kid is crazy, Sam."

"Yeah, but sometimes he just does that stuff for the attention. And he likes to test his strength." Sam chuckled. "Last week he was messing around and punched me in the eye. Thought I was going to have a shiner, he hit me that hard!"

"Is that what I have to look forward to? If so, who needs all these dangerous jobs when I can get beat up at home?" Michael grinned.

"I thought you already had enough of that from Fi," Sam cracked, and the two men laughed. As the sound floated off on a slight breeze, Sam said, "You know, I think getting away from the jobs for awhile has done you some good. You're starting to develop a better sense of humor, and you're not so tense. That's a good thing."

"I'm sleeping better, too. Fewer nightmares these days, and then they're about baby stuff."

"Don't sweat it. You're well equipped to handle the crises of your kid's life."

"Thanks, Sam. Knowing you have faith in me, well, that means a lot."

Sam turned and looked at Michael with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. "I'm glad. I think you and Fi are going to have some great kids."

"Kids?" Michael's eyebrows rose as his face paled.

He pretended to be astonished at his slip. "Oh, did I say that?"

"Not too loud!" Michael glared at him. "I want to get through the first one before we think about another!"

With a laugh and a grin, Sam leaned back and trained his attention on the kids. "Two is generally more fun. Trust me." Samuel ran around the yard chasing Esperanza, and she twisted and turned just out of his reach, frustrating him. When he had enough, he jumped at her, grabbed her shirt, and tackled to the ground. For a kid nearly half her age, he was strong.

"Samuel! Not so rough!"

"She make me mad, Daddy!"

"I don't care! You be nice to your sister." He turned his gaze on Esperanza and her haughty expression. "And you, young lady, stop tormenting your brother!"

Espie pouted, crossed her arms and marched away to the swing set. She sat on the swing and pushed off, nearly clipping Samuel as he ran toward her.

"That girl..." Sam got up, crossed the yard and stood in front of the swing. As she came forward, he grabbed the seat, stopped its momentum, and brought it back to a resting position, all the while talking to her.

Michael couldn't hear what Sam said, but the results appeared on the little girl's face. She didn't like being scolded, and she bowed her head so Michael couldn't see the effects of her getting chewed out. When Sam finished, she got off the swing, slipped past him, and ran into the house.

"Jeez, Sam, what'd you do?"

"Nothing, other than send her to her room. She's been getting that way lately, bossy, aggressive..." He sighed and sat on the step. "I think Eve and I need to make an appointment to talk to her teacher. See what's going on in that classroom or on the playground."

"She's just being a kid, Sam."

"Until a few weeks ago, she wasn't like this. I'm not going to tolerate that kind of behavior."

Michael's eyebrows rose at Sam's declaration and the insistence in his tone. His friend was always protective of his kids, but he was also realistic. When they went out into the world, Michael doubted that they would be ill-equipped to handle real life and they would certainly be more civilized than a lot of kids running around wild nowadays. He hoped that he would have the same wisdom in bringing up his son or daughter.

"Hey Sam...I know you haven't had much to do lately. I was wondering if you could do a job for me."

"A job? Seriously?"

"Yeah, just a little intelligence gathering."

"It's not for Pearce. Please tell me it's not for her."

"No, actually, it's for a...couple of friends. We met them in the Lamaze classes."

Sam turned his head, unable to believe he actually heard Michael utter those two words. "You've been going to Lamaze with Fi?"

"Well, she can't very well do this alone, Sam."

"Hah, tell me about it!" Pictures of Yvette in Michael's car came back to him.

Michael smiled. "Anyway, I was hoping you could look into something for them, and..."

Sam let his head drop back as he let out a breath. "Actually, unless it involves some after hours internet surfing or something, I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to do." He turned his eyes to Michael's. "I'm working with Jack on a job. It starts tomorrow, going undercover at a charter high school to break up a gang that's trying to terrorize the kids."

"You're kidding. You and Jack, working on a case?"

Sam was surprised to see the look on his friend's face, like he'd betrayed him. "Mike, I took the job because you were taking it easy for awhile. I didn't think you'd actually come up with anything!"

"Well, what are you going to do for Jack?"

"I'm posing as a substitute teacher." He waited for Michael to laugh, but his friend simply looked at him as if he waited for more details. "What, no reaction?"

"Why? I think you'd make a great teacher, Sam."

Sam nodded, again surprised. "Thanks, Mike."

"Where's the school?" He seemed genuinely interested, and Sam had to wonder why.

"It's Chase Academy, in Coconut Grove."

Michael nodded. "I've heard of the place. It's..."

The screen door squeaked and Fiona stepped out onto the porch. "Sam, thank you for having us over, but I really need to get some rest. Michael?"

"Is everything okay, Fi?"

She smiled at Sam's concern. "Yes, it's just that carrying around this extra weight can be a challenge. It seems like I can never get enough rest these days, but I suppose that's normal."

"I'd like to assure you that once the baby is here you'll get some rest, but I'd be lying." Sam grinned.

"Believe me, I know! Michael..."

"Yeah, we better get going."

The men stood and Michael handed Sam his empty glass. "We were glad you could come, Fi, Mike. Don't be strangers, and let us know when that baby's coming!"

"Yeah, I might need someone to drive us to the hospital,"Michael joked. Then he sobered and asked, "Will you think about it? I'll call you tomorrow night and give you some more details on what we're looking for."

"I'll think about it, Mike. If it involves leg work, I'm not sure I can swing it." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry."

Michael smiled and clamped a hand on Sam's upper arm. "It's okay. You've helped me out plenty of times. Maybe you can at least talk to some of your buddies and they can get some intel."

"That I can do."

"Michael, you promised you weren't going to take any more jobs until after the baby was born!"

"This isn't a job, Fi, it's just a...a favor."

Fiona sighed and stepped down the porch, passed him and waved good night to Sam and Yvette. She and Michael disappeared into the falling darkness, and Sam heard two car doors, followed quickly by the Charger's engine.

"Samuel! Time to go inside!"

The little boy came flying out of the wall of shadows beyond the porch light and ran into Sam's leg. If he'd been a little off to the left, he might have done some damage to Sam's knee.

"Gotcha!" Samuel giggled.

"No, I got you!" Sam quickly bent over, picked up his son and threw him over his shoulder. Some day soon, he would be too old to carry like that. Until then, Sam did it whenever he could, because Samuel loved it. As he went inside, Samuel's laughter echoed off the garage. It was one of the sweetest sounds in the whole world.

After Yvette settled Samuel in bed, Sam turned out the lights downstairs except for an old television lamp Yvette found in an antique shop. With a flat screen it was impractical, but it made a nice warm glow from where it sat off to one side on the fireplace mantel. Until winter came and the fireplace could be used, the lamp cast a romantic glow in the living room. He added to the ambience by lighting a set of candles on the coffee table.

Yvette let out a heavy sigh as her feet hit the bottom step.

"Everything okay upstairs?"

"Yes. But just so you know, Esperanza is still up. She insisted she did all her homework earlier, and then when she came storming in here, I decided to go check." Her brow crinkled. "She didn't finish her reading assignment, so I made her stay up and finish it."

Sam took Yvette by the shoulders and steered her to the couch. They sat and he put his arm around her. "I don't understand why she's being so...ornery...lately."

"I don't get it either. I think you're right, we need to talk to her teacher and find out what's been going on at school." She settled into his chest and they sat quietly for awhile.

Eventually, they heard feet thumping down the stairs, and Esperanza stood in the living room. "I finished my reading, Mom, and I'm ready for bed."

"Okay, sweetie. Night." She accepted a hug and kiss from her daughter, and watched as she approached Sam to kiss and hug him. She hesitated for just a moment, then buried herself in his arms.

"Night, punkin. I love you."

"Love you too, Daddy." She whispered something in his ear before breaking away and running upstairs.

"What was that about?"

"She apologized for acting up outside tonight." He fell back into the couch and let out a deep breath. "I think I should get to bed. If I have to have to handle three classes of kids tomorrow, I'm going to need my rest. And they're big kids!"

"Scary." Yvette smiled, leaned forward and kissed him. "You're a brave man to take them on, Sam. I'll be thinking about you all day." They stood, and while she extinguished the candles, he turned off the lamp. By the dim light spilling from the street light into the dining room, Sam moved to the back of the house to check the door. Yvette took care of the front, and together they ascended the stairs to their room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sam drove to the coffee shop on the way to the high school and met Jack at 0700 on the dot. They seated themselves, ordered two cups, black, and sat looking out the window at the dawning day.

"Well Jack? What's the scoop?"

"What do you mean?" He had a guilty look on his face. Sam knew something was up.

"You wanted to meet for a reason. What is it?" Sam eyed him.

"I have to admit, there's a little more to this job than I first told you about."

Sam nodded. "Uh huh, I had a feeling there would be."

He looked Sam in the eye as he admitted, "You're not just the substitute history teacher. You also have to take care of two periods of phys ed."

Sam laughed. "Is that all? Why phys ed?"

Jack's eyes bored into him. "The history teacher is also the gym teacher, so you're stuck with it. Can you handle it?"

"I can handle it just fine." He leaned across the small table and asked, "Do you think any of the punks are going to be in class?"

"Your chances are better with that than the history class," Jack answered with a crooked grin.

"Nice. Good thing I have some stuff in my trunk. I was thinking maybe I could hit the track after school and get a little run in before going home, but, well, at least I'm prepared for this little twist."

"Sorry, Axeman. It's not like I was trying to lure you into it. I just found out about it myself after we talked yesterday."

"No problem, Jack. This might actually be kind of fun, if the rowdies don't show themselves, at least not right away."

"I wouldn't count on that." For the first time since he proposed this job, Jack looked concerned for his friend. "Watch your back, Sam."

"I'll be fine, if I channel a little drill instructor into me, show 'em I won't take crap and just get down to business." Sam smiled thinly as realization suddenly dawned on him. "I see now why I was given the history class. This is where the trouble is, isn't it? And the teacher couldn't handle the kids." As he spoke he watched Jack's face, knowing that he hit on the truth. Sam shrugged. "No worries. I can do this."

"I'm sorry, man. I should have been up front with that yesterday, but I was afraid you wouldn't take the job and then I'd be stuck."

"You didn't think you could take on these kids?"

"No. Carl said he wanted someone who could actually teach in that classroom, not someone who's specialty was busting heads. That's me, I'm a head buster. You, Axeman, you've got more than that."

Sam smiled and nodded. "You know I'm committed to this now, you don't have to butter me up anymore." He glanced at his watch. "Uhoh, better get going. Don't want to be late the first day!"

"Be careful, man." Jack shook his hand.

"Even though times have changed, the punks will always be punks. We'll take care of 'em."

Sam walked in through the main entrance of the school. He wasn't sure what to expect; he just knew that the charter school was housed in an old high school from the 40s that had been mothballed for a couple decades previously. The architecture still bore the style of a simpler time, and as he walked past the rows of metal lockers, he wondered if they were the originals with a good coat of paint. The hallway was jammed with teenagers getting their books, talking with friends, hassling other students. _Yep, nothing's changed. _He had to smile to himself at that thought. Even though they dressed differently from his days, he could pick out the punks in the crowd as he walked to the office. They caught his eye, and as he passed one kid, he mimicked a gun, pulled the trigger and blew across the barrel.

Sam only narrowed his eyes at the young man and smiled. _I've got your number, kid. If you're in one of my classes..._

He reached the office and the door swung out abruptly. Good thing his reflexes were still in top form. He grabbed it just before it hit him in the face.

"Sorry!" A girl with pink hair and piercings all over her face rushed past.

Sam raised an eyebrow, shook his head, and swung around the door before it closed. He got one more look at the girl as she walked away. _If Espie thinks she's going to look like that some day...she's got another think coming!_

"Can I help you, Sir?" A young girl stood behind the counter sounding respectful enough as she greeted him with a friendly tone.

Sam glanced around at the activity and focused through the rumbling chaos in the room as he asked, "Is Mr. Larkin available? I'm the substitute history teacher."

"Oh yeah, just a minute!" She hurried into another room and quickly returned. "Mr. Larkin is waiting for you. Just come on in here." She led him to the office where a slim graying man sat in his office chair scanning a sheaf of papers.

"Mr. Axe!" His eyes rose as Sam entered the room, and he stood, stretching his six foot four frame. The papers he dropped onto a pile in the center of his desk and held out a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you!" He briefly turned his attention to the girl. "Stephie, thank you for showing Mr. Axe in. You can go back to the front desk now."

"Yes sir, Mr. Larkin!" She grinned, showing off a row of metal mouth, and hurried back to the main office. She closed the door and put a barrier between them and the noise.

"Nice kid." Sam took the seat that Mr. Larkin offered him.

"We've got a lot of them here. Good kids who want to learn, but there are a few..."

Sam held up a hand. "Jack told me. That's why I'm here."

"He told you about the gym classes?"

"Yeah. I'm ready for that." Sam held up a small bag that held his gear. "And I've gone through the assignment the other teacher gave the kids. I'm ready to go."

Larkin smiled as he took in Sam's tan shirt, white pants and casual shoes. "I didn't know what to expect, but I should have known when Jack told me you served with him that you'd be like two peas in a pod."

"Except, like he says, he busts heads, and I take a more...cooler...approach. I only bust heads when necessary." He paused. "One thing I have to say, Sir. I hope you're prepared for a little, um, shakedown, if it becomes necessary. If there's a gang in this school, treating them with kid gloves is not gonna get the job done."

"I'm aware of that, Mr. Axe. Or should I call you Commander Axe?"

Sam laughed and shook his head. "No, Sir, Mr. Axe is fine. Or Sam, when we're behind closed doors."

"Alright, Sam." Larkin smiled wider and leaned forward, tenting his hands over the pile of work on his desk. "You can call me Carl behind closed doors. Now, before I let you run off to your classroom, I want to give you some information." He sorted through the pile quickly and pulled out a file folder a half inch thick. "These are the records of the kids who have been giving us trouble. Look over the file and you'll see that a few of them are in your second period history class and the fourth period phys ed."

"Well, at least they're not coming at me all at once," Sam joked. He accepted the folder, and set it on top of the history book, the roster, and a leather portfolio in which he had his notes, and stood. "Now, Carl, if you don't mind. I should get to my classroom before the class arrives, don't you think?"

The two men smiled. "It's on the second floor. Room 201."

"Thanks." Sam left the office with the books tucked under one arm and the bag in his other hand. He navigated through the sea of young faces and found the room easily. There were already a few students sitting in desks, talking, writing on notebook paper, and one sat in the back with his earbuds firmly planted in his ears as he bopped to the music that sounded more like hissing from where Sam stood. The kid looked at him as if he were invisible. Sam didn't care, at least not for the time being. He would deal with him soon enough.

As he settled into his role, more kids arrived and took their seats. Some of them seemed genuinely surprised to see a stranger in their midst. Sam gave a couple girls who sat in the front row a charming smile, and they returned the smile, albeit shyly. He turned to the board, wrote his name on the upper right side, and then drew a long horizontal line across the surface. He divided it with vertical marks and wrote labels above them, marking off the years in the decade they were about to cover. The last of the stragglers came in, and most of the kids visited, while very few sat riveted on what he was doing.

Sam dropped the chalk in the tray as the final bell rang, turned, and swiped the white dust off his hands as he scanned the room and wordlessly sized up his class. He cleared his throat with enough volume to get their attention. The kid with the earbuds played out a beat with two pencils on his desk, causing the girls in front to snicker.

"Hey Buddy, the concert's over." Sam called out and his voice carried across the room, but the kid didn't hear him. The others laughed. Oblivious, he drummed on, and Sam walked the aisle until he stood over him.

The kid noticed a shadow fall over the desk and he pulled out one earbud. "Dude, whassup?"

"Whassup is that the drum solo is over, Mr. Rich," Sam answered him.

"Huh? The name's Slash."

"Sorry, but that's a dumb nickname for a drummer, Mr. Nicholas Spencer." Sam knew studying the seating charts would come in handy. "I was referring to you as Buddy Rich, once one of this country's best drummers."

The kid smiled, taking Sam's words as a compliment. "Thanks, man."

"But like your little drum solo, he's history...man...and you're not here to create it, but to learn it."

Sam picked up the phone and as the other earbud popped out of Nicholas's ear, dissension filled the young man's eyes. "Hey man, that's mine! You can't take that!"

"Oh no? I don't think you bothered to read the school manual did you, huh, Mr. Spencer? No cellphones are allowed to be used during school hours. And don't make excuses that it's an mp3 player. That doesn't fly in my classroom." Sam turned on his heel, wound the earbuds up around the phone and dropped it into a desk drawer. He noted it wasn't the only one there.

Nicholas stood up and cursed Sam. "You got no right!"

"I have every right. You broke the rules, I confiscate. Just going by the book here, Mr. Spencer, like everybody else. Now sit down and shut up or you're going to be cruising to Mr. Larkin's office." He watched with hidden satisfaction as the kid sat down and the others in the room stared at their new teacher, some with fear, and others with respect. Sam didn't miss a beat as he stood in the center of the front of the room and changed his tone of voice to something more pleasant. "Okay, now that we've got that business taken care of...welcome to my classroom." He smiled slightly. "My name is Mr. Axe, and I'm your substitute teacher in...definitely."

"Where's Mr. Hamlin?" One of the girls in the front asked with one hand half raised, the other twirling her hair absently.

"Mr. Hamlin is taking a short leave of absence, and I've been hired to replace him. Any other questions before we begin?"

A hand went up near the windows. Sam pointed to the young man. "Yes sir, Mr. Brewster?"

The kid's eyes widened, clearly impressed that Sam knew his name. "Mr. Axe, were you in the military?"

"Yes, I was. Why do you ask?"

"I noticed your timepiece. It's a Special Forces watch."

"You're right, it is." He nodded. "You're interested in the military?" The kid looked a little geeky, but you never knew until the chips were down what kind of man sat before you.

"So you're like some commando guy, huh?" Nicholas sneered.

He hadn't expected to face such resistance first thing in the morning. But Sam played it cool. He crossed his arms and leaned his backside against the desk. "Okay, I suppose we can do a little getting to know you session here. My name is Sam Axe, and I was a Navy SEAL. I left the military a few years ago as a Commander after serving for over 20 years." He glanced at the geeky kid who sat with rapt attention and let his eyes stray around the room as he continued. "In 20 plus years, I spent time in half the countries on this planet. I've been shot, stabbed, nearly drowned, kidnapped, tortured and beaten to within an inch of my life for state secrets, and suffered much worse than you, Mr. Spencer." He locked his gaze on Nicholas.

"Did you get to kill guys like Bin Laden?" The question came from the middle of the room.

"I'm afraid I can't really talk about what I did. It's all classified. But I can tell you that if you're looking for a career that requires your best each and every day, and you're willing to push yourself beyond what you think you can do, the military is a good choice."

"Be all that you can be, dude." The class laughed at the heckler's remark.

Sam gave him a look that said he was hardly amused. "Wrong branch, Mr. Tozer. Don't you know anything? Jeez. Of course, that's why you're here... to learn!"

The kid gaped as the others laughed. Sam could see it was starting to dawn on the tougher ones that he did his homework on them. He wouldn't be so easily shaken.

Sam let out a breath and stood on his feet. "Alright then, why don't we talk about your assignment, which was chapters ten through thirteen." Groans followed him as he moved around the desk to open the textbook.

By the time the bell rang, the only groans came from the students who soaked up everything Sam talked about during class and were sorry to see it end. He made history come alive for them in ways they'd never experienced. He wasn't afraid to act out scenes from the past, and he used volunteers to illustrate and make history relevant. As they filed out, some of the kids gave him smiles and spoke to him.

"Looking forward to next class, Mr. Axe!"

"That was pretty awesome, Mr. Axe!"

He nodded and thanked them for their comments. Only Nicholas glared at him as he left the room. He stopped and turned back. "Can I have my phone back, man?"

"No, because it's against the rules for you to even have it. And besides, do you really think I'd give it back when you can't even show me a little respect?"

"You dissed me, man. I diss you."

"No, you started it by bringing the phone to class, playing your music loud enough to be heard up front, and banging away on your desk." Sam paused. "That wasn't just disrespectful to me, but to every other student in the class. Think about that, and if you can offer up a heartfelt apology, maybe I'll consider giving you back your phone. Tomorrow."

The classroom had emptied out by the time Sam finished his lecture, but a few kids stood in the hall watching. He hadn't meant to call Nicholas out in front of them, but now that it happened, he was afraid he'd just lost whatever respect he earned from the others. He was surprised when they clapped, and cheered, and then went on their way.

Nicholas shook his head as he glared at Sam. "You're messing with the wrong guy, Axe. Count on it, dude."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next two periods were nearly a duplication of the first, and by the time the last students left, Sam was mentally beat. He'd been on his feet the entire time, resisting the barbs and distractions presented by the troubled kids, trying to make things interesting for the ones who actually cared about learning something. He packed up his books and left the room, and after lunch, his ordeal with the phys ed students would begin. He secretly wished some of those instigators would be in his classes, and he could pay them back by making them work hard.

He found the teachers' lunch room, which was a large glassed-in cube full of round tables with chairs, versus the long tables and benches in the general seating area. As he entered, all eyes were on him.

"Hi," he said, and a few went back to what they were doing. He figured that they'd seen enough subs come and go, this one wasn't much different. He glanced around the room, found a place to sit that was away from everyone else, and settled in with a lunch that Yvette packed, not sure he wanted to brave the cafeteria's offerings. He set out a sandwich, yogurt, and a baggie of carrot sticks, grabbed a cup of coffee from the coffeemaker, and he was ready to get down to business. While he ate, he pored over the file folder Carl Larkin gave him in an attempt to figure out who in the bunch had the most potential to be a gang leader.

"Hi."

Sam looked up and saw a young, cute blonde woman sit across from him at the table. "Sue Sturtevant. I'm the art teacher." She held out a hand and he took it.

"Sam Axe. Substitute history and phys ed teacher."

"I hear you had it out with Nicholas Spencer."

Sam shook his head. "Not really. Just gave the kid a lesson in respect, that's all."

"You better be careful with him, Sam. He's a tough kid. His dad is in the Navy."

"Yeah, so was I. Unless his dad outranks a Commander, I don't think I have much to worry about." He gave her a smug smile. "Besides, if the kid needs Daddy to fight his battles for him, he's got bigger issues."

Sue stopped talking, but he could feel her eyes on him. He clicked on his pen and wrote a few notes in the margin of one of the dossiers, glanced at her, and said, "Sorry, I'm, uh, kind of busy here."

"What are you doing with those?" She turned her head to get a better look at the files.

Sam closed the folder. "Nothing you need to know about. Sorry." He raised his eyes to her, wordlessly conveying the message that she wasn't wanted there. With a sniff, she got up, strode back to the table where she started, and ducked her head down with the other women who sat around it. From across the room he could hear them whispering, probably discussing his rudeness. Sam didn't care. He wasn't there to make nice with the other teachers; finding the disruptors was his main objective.

The first bell rang, signaling that it was time for the next period in ten minutes. Sam had a little time to get to the gym and prepare for his next class. He'd gotten through most of the profiles so he had a fair idea of what he was up against. If he thought the history classes were mentally draining, phys ed would probably suck all the last of his energy. He packed up his things, threw away the trash, and grabbed a bottle of water before heading for the gym.

When the kids arrived for class, they were surprised to see him, except for the couple who were from his history class. They were even more surprised to see that he actually dressed to participate. He wore an old faded gray t-shirt with Navy emblazoned on it, dark blue shorts, and gym shoes and socks. A whistle hung around his neck. The students milled around talking, until he gave one loud burst to get their attention.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Sam Axe, I'm your phys ed teacher, and we're going to get started with a little stretching after roll call." He got the kids lined up and put them through a few exercises. The girls went at it half-heartedly, but the guys showed off for the girls. "Come on, ladies! I know you can do it! Come on, let's go, let's go, let's get those legs up! Pretend you're the Miami Heat cheerleaders!"

The girls grinned and laughed as he encouraged them. He moved down the lines and barked at the guys as if he were their drill instructor, not some lazy gym teacher to be ignored. When he gave the girls a nod or a smile, they worked harder. But Sam knew he had to be careful with turning on the charm. It could get him into a lot of trouble, and it had nothing to do with the gang.

After everyone seemed to be limbered up, he sent them running around the gym for a few laps, and he led the way. Toward the back he set up a few obstacles for them to go through, and after a couple laps the guys took their turns following Sam. The girls hung back, but a few brave ones followed the guys. Sam couldn't believe how well the class was going. Everyone followed direction, pushing themselves harder when he asked them to press on. If his last class of the day was anything like this, he could go home feeling really good about what he'd accomplished. To his disappointment, it turned out to be a completely different scenario.

Nicholas Spencer was in class, as were two other guys from the history classes who heckled and tried to create a disturbance. They talked among themselves and paid no attention to Sam as he conducted the others in the same lesson plan from the previous class. Three times he ordered them to get into line, but they ignored him.

"Okay everybody, run a few laps. I need to have a little conversation with our friends over here." Sam approached Nicholas and his small gang with hands on hips. "Mr. Spencer, you have lunch time to socialize with your friends. When you're here in phys ed, you're on my time, and theirs. Do I need to remind you that you're dissing your classmates by defying me?"

"Whatever, man, I don't need this crap." He straightened himself, but he still couldn't quite reach Sam's height.

"I'd think you'd wanna be in shape, in case you have to run away from the cops, drug dealers, whatever."

Nicholas glared at him. "You're cruisin' for an ass kicking..._Mister_ Axe."

A confident small smile crossed his lips. "Oh, you don't wanna go there, Mr. Spencer. Trust me."

Nicholas looked at him with a smirk on his face. "You're just an old guy. I could take you any day."

"I suppose, but we'll never know will we?" He glanced at the two kids flanking Nicholas. "You guys just listen to all this hot air and believe him, huh? Talk is cheap. Sometimes you've gotta back it up." Sam turned, knowing he'd said more than enough. He picked up the whistle and was about to bring it to his lips, when he heard a sound of rage behind him.

Nicholas came at Sam, but he was ready. He flipped him over his back like a dead fish and the kid crashed to the wood floor. He quickly recovered and kicked at Sam as he got to his feet. Sam had a quick and easy defensive move ready, and the kid went down again. All the other students stopped running around the gym and huddled nearby to watch Nicholas get the butt kicking he deserved.

"Come on, Nick, give it up, man. I can go all day here!" Sam stood over him, watching him slowly recover from the last blows to his pride. He glanced at Nicholas's friends. "You guys care to defy me again?" Their eyes showed fear, and they blended into the crowd. "Didn't think so." Sam bent over and poked Nick in the chest. "Hit the lockers, Spencer, and come back here when you're done. If you don't...well, you don't wanna know what'll happen next. Got it?"

Nicholas didn't answer him or nod. He just got to his feet, glaring at Sam the entire time with hate in his eyes, and he ran to the boys' locker room.

Sam yelled across the gym. "Nice stride there, Nick! Maybe next time you can join us!"

One thing Sam learned that day was that the kids knew what was going on in their school, and they didn't like it. Witnessing a teacher who wouldn't sit back and let the minority ruin things for the rest of them brought cheers and appreciation. Maybe with enough encouragement, they could build up the confidence to take back the classrooms from those who tried to turn them into scenes of chaos. Then Sam's job would be done.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Well, you made it home in one piece." Yvette grinned. "You must have had a good day, even if you look a little tired." She kissed him on the lips as Sam passed through the kitchen looking as if he had little energy left.

"A little?" He stopped in his tracks. "Yeah, I think I've already figured out who the bad kids are. Whether they're part of a gang or just taking the initiative to be unruly, well, that's for me to work out another day." He let out a long sigh. "I'll be upstairs in the office, getting a lesson ready for tomorrow."

"Want me to bring up your dinner?"

He smiled. "Thanks, honey. Boy, I tell you, I would not want to do this full time! It would be nice to come home and just relax, play with my kids, and spend time with my wife. But tonight, I have to work."

"On the weekend, you can catch up and get the next week's lessons done so you'll have your nights free."

"Until I have to test these kids or make them write papers." He shook his head. "I wish Mike would go back to work. It was a lot easier than this!"

Yvette laughed and stroked his cheek lovingly. "You'll get used to it."

"I hope this is resolved before I get to that point."

"Don't rush it. Get it done right." She hugged him, and he put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

"You know me, I won't cut corners. It'll get done right."

"I know." She turned to the counter and returned with a glass. "Here, have some iced tea, and I'll be up in a little bit with your meal."

"Where are the kids?"

"Samuel is playing in his room, and Espie is doing her homework, grudgingly. Maybe if she sees her daddy doing his, she'll knuckle down and get it done!" Yvette smiled, kissed his cheek, and turned him toward the living room and the stairs. "Good luck!"

"Thanks."

Sam buried his head in the textbook and a series of web sites that helped him come up with his plan for the next classes. At one point, Esperanza came into the room to ask him something, but she saw his intensity and stopped herself. When Yvette brought supper to him, she pointed toward the window seat and he turned. They saw their daughter lying on her stomach, just as intent on her studies as he was.

"I guess this isn't all bad," Sam whispered to Yvette. "Thanks, honey." He kissed her and went back to his work, taking a bite now and then. Most of his meal went cold, but by the time he dragged himself to bed, he was satisfied with what he'd put together for the next few days. This was the mother of all lesson plans, and it would get him through the rest of the week.

He laid his head on the pillow, dozed off for a moment, and came to with a start as he realized that Yvette wasn't beside him. The phone rang, and after a few rings, she picked it up. She called up from downstairs. "Honey, it's Jack!"

"Got it!" He rolled over to the nightstand and picked up the phone. With a start, he noticed that it was almost nine. It seemed a lot later, but exhaustion warped his sense of time. As he spoke, he rolled to his back. "Hey, Jack, what's up?"

"Just wanted to see how things went with Mr. Axe's first day at school." Jack chuckled.

"Buddy, I am beat!"

"I heard you threw your weight around a little."

"Yeah, probably bought myself a lot of trouble."

"No, if anything you gained a lot of respect. Some kids don't understand anything but force, and you were cool and forceful at the same time. That's why I thought you'd be a good fit for this assignment!" His voice was cheerful and full of hope. "I didn't get a whole lot to work with today, but I think what you did intimidated enough of those kids to get them to try something. Then we'll nail them."

"I think Nick Spencer is one to watch. He's a weenie, but push him hard enough, and he tries to fight back. But he's still a weenie."

Jack laughed. "There's another kid, Joel Hagen. I don't think you've met him yet. He's, uh, let me see here..." He paused and Sam heard rustling papers. "He's been out supposedly sick the past couple of days, but they're expecting him back tomorrow. He's in your third period history class."

"Yeah, I missed him during roll call." Sam yawned and ran a hand over his face. "Jack, when you were in high school did you ever give the teachers this much trouble?"

"I plead the fifth on that one," he replied with a hearty laugh.

"Glad you're not in any of my classes. I would have kicked your butt to the principal's office." He yawned again. "Oh man, I'm gonna have to call it a night. You got anything else for me?"

"Nope. Just keep your eye on this Joel kid. Spencer's got nothing on him. He's already been suspended for drug possession once this year. Got detention for fighting. He's one tough customer."

"I'll be on my toes. Night, Jack."

"Night, Axeman. Hang in there."

Sam replaced the phone on the cradle, lay on his side, and fell asleep within minutes. When Yvette came into the room she found him dead to the world, curled up on his side of the bed, fully clothed. She covered him with a blanket and slipped in under the covers. If he woke up during the night, he could rearrange himself then. _He must have had a rough day! Poor baby. _She leaned over, kissed his cheek softly, and settled in under the covers.

The next day, Sam prepared himself for having to deal with Joel, but the kid was AWOL from his classes again. The day went smoothly, the kids behaved themselves, and even Nicholas kept his smart remarks to a minimum and participated in gym class.

As the class dispersed and headed to the locker rooms, he called Nicholas back.

"Yeah, what do you want, man?"

"Just wanted to tell you, you've got a good arm, Nick. Have you ever thought of trying out for the football team?"

"What? Me?" He looked at Sam as if he'd lost his mind.

"Why not? It's not like there's a lot of competition, if that's what you're afraid of." Sam narrowed his eyes, challenging him.

"It's not that. I'm just not into sports."

Sam shrugged. "Okay, I'm just sayin'. I was a quarterback in high school, and it got me a scholarship into Annapolis. I know a good arm when I see one, kid, and you're just going to let it go to waste."

"I got better things to do with my time than throw a stupid ball around. Later, Teach." Nicholas walked toward the locker room, shaking his head.

"At least he didn't throw a punch at me. Maybe that's progress," Sam muttered.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The weekend brought sun and heat, and the Axe family headed for the beach. Samuel and Maddie went along, and Michael and Fiona found them as they took a stroll along the boardwalk. They staked out quite a bit of sand and the kids went screeching for the water. Sam worked on the next unit in the textbook, taking notes, while catching bits and pieces of the conversations around him.

"Sam, are you going to spend your entire weekend wrapped up in that book?"

He glanced at Maddie, who stared at him behind her big sunglasses and pursed her lips in a disapproval. Smiling in reassurance, he replied, "No, Maddie. I'm just finishing up. Then I'll have the lesson plans done for the next week, at least. It all depends on how things go in the classroom."

"Have you been getting a lot of disturbances from the kids," Michael asked as he sat up and rested his elbows on his knees.

"No, it's actually been pretty quiet. After that first day, the Spencer kid settled down. Yesterday, this other kid, Joel, came in and tried to stir things up, but I wouldn't let him." He shook his head. "I swear, Mike, it almost came to blows. But after the lesson I taught Nick in gym class, Joel must have heard about it, because he just said, 'This ain't over, dude' and went back to his seat."

"Well, if you need any support, I've been itching to get in a little target practice," Fiona said with a sassy grin.

"You've got no business getting involved in any of this, Fi. You're too far along."

She stared at him as she unconsciously ran a hand over her rounded stomach. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. I saw you when you and Mike were walking over here. You're starting to carry low."

"He's right, Fiona," Yvette broke in as she returned from the surf with the kids.

Fiona wrinkled her nose at Sam and frowned. "You turn into a teacher and now you're an obstetrician too?"

"No, I just remember what I saw with Eve, although I didn't know at the time. You just wait, I'm betting that baby comes this week." He looked over his sunglasses at her and winked. "Hey Mike, wanna take bets?"

"No, I'm a little too close to the mother of my child." He grinned.

Fiona looked at Sam as if she had a secret that he'd somehow gotten wind of, and he knew it was better just to let it lie and not rile her. He held up a hand in surrender.

"Okay, whatever. But I'm sticking by my prediction." He went back to finishing up his task, and then he was ready to play with the kids.

Samuel taught Esperanza how to throw a frisbee, so Sam joined the two of them, and eventually Michael got interested enough to be included. The women sat on the towels with Maddie and watched while little Samuel napped under a beach umbrella.

Maddie sighed and piqued Yvette's interest. "Something wrong, Maddie?"

"Huh? No...well...maybe, I don't know. It's just good to see Samuel so active. When he's not working at Carlito's, he's been spending a lot of time just doing...nothing." She paused and watched him reach for a shot that went over his head. "I don't know, but I think there's something wrong with him. It's like he spaces out or something. And then when I startle him, he looks at me like he doesn't know who I am at first."

Yvette and Fiona glanced at each other, worried expressions on their faces. Fiona spoke. "Has he been to the doctor lately, Madelyn?"

"Yes, he just had his annual checkup last month. The doctor gave him some pills for his cholesterol and something else, and he's been taking them, but he seems like he's getting worse."

"A while back, when we went to Disney, Sam said he suspected something was up. Maybe we should have listened to him," Yvette said, her brow wrinkled with worry. "Maybe he should go back for more tests."

"Yes, it might be something simple that they can easily fix," Fiona suggested with a smile.

"But if it's not..."

"Then at least you know, and you'll know what you can do for him to make whatever it is more bearable," Yvette finished.

"I can't lose him, girls." Maddie's voice clogged with emotion and from beneath her sunglasses, a tear slipped down her cheek. "Not now. I need him."

Fiona and Yvette put their arms around her in comfort.

Michael caught a glimpse of their moment and picked up the frisbee that he missed.

"What's the matter, Westen? Can't catch?" Samuel laughed.

"Catch this, Samuel!" He whipped the frisbee so hard it sailed over the waves.

"I got it, Grandpa!" Esperanza charged into the surf, came up sputtering, and slogged through the water to pick up the hot pink disc that floated on the surface.

"That's my girl," Samuel exclaimed.

"Sam," Michael asked as he closed the distance between himself and his friend and brother. "What's up with them?" He inclined his head toward the little chick hug fest on the beach.

"Got me, Mikey. Maybe Fi's having a meltdown."

"No, it looks like something is up with Ma."

"Well, you should ask her, she's your mom."

"Technically, she's yours too now. Remember?"

"You know, Mike, I can handle a classroom full of gangsta wannabes, but Maddie is a whole different story!"

"Hey, are you guys gonna play or what?" Samuel called out across the beach.

"I'll talk to my Ma later, Sam."

"Thanks, brother. Hey, how'd it go with that intel I got for you from my buddies?"

"We're making progress. Jesse's helping me run down some leads." Michael caught the frisbee and threw it to Esperanza. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem."

That night, as Sam and Yvette got into bed, he asked her, "What was going on with you girls on the beach?"

"Maddie's worried about Samuel." She let everything spill as he held her. "It must be getting bad for her to say something to us."

"Is she going to take him to the doctor?"

"She said she'd call on Monday." Yvette kept the worry out of her voice for Sam's sake. After all, this was his father they were talking about, and he warned them that something wasn't right.

"Good. They'll figure it out, and maybe it won't be such a big deal." He'd been trying to tell himself that for some time now, but as his father deteriorated, Sam began to think it was all good wishes for nothing. He would keep silent and wait, because he didn't want to increase the anxiety running around their households.

The phone rang close to 0520. It was on Sam's side, so he growled at the intrusion, dragged his arm out from under the covers, and picked up the receiver. "Hello," he mumbled into it.

"Sam, it's me!"

"Mike?" Immediately, his eyes flew open and he struggled to a sitting position. "What is it? Is it Dad? Is he okay?"

"I don't know about your dad, but Fi...she's in labor."

Sam threw the covers off and sat on the edge of the bed. Behind him, Yvette stirred. "Sam, what's going on?"

"Fi's in labor," he shot over his shoulder. "You need any help, Mikey?"

"No, we're almost to the hospital."

"Well then get off the phone and drive! We'll meet you there!" He stood and crossed to the bathroom, turned on the light, and squinted at himself in the mirror. "You want us to pick up Dad and Maddie?"

"They're already on the way. Sorry, Sam, I called them first."

Sam could hear a hint of an apologetic smile in his voice. "No problem, brother. How far apart are the contractions?"

"I don't know that. You'd have to ask Fi, but she's kind of...busy...right now."

Sam heard Fiona cry out and he cringed. It brought back memories he'd hoped to forget. "Okay, well, drive safe. We'll see you in a little while."

Getting to the hospital wasn't as easy as Sam would have thought. First, he and Yvette got themselves together, and then they had two sleepy kids to rouse and dress. Sam called Tom and told him what was happening, and he assured Sam that he and Pam would be praying for a safe delivery. By the time he got off the phone, Yvette came downstairs with the kids.

"We're ready, Sam!"

"Okay, let's go." Sam ushered them out of the house, locked it behind himself, and went ahead to get the car out of the garage. Once everyone was buckled into Yvette's vehicle, he drove them to the hospital.

"I hope it's a girl," Esperanza said. "Then Zoe and I can play with her when she gets older."

Sam laughed. "She...or he...isn't even born yet! Talk about looking ahead to the future!"

"I know, Dad. It's just that boys are stupid and boring, and they're mean all the time."

Yvette gave Sam a meaningful glance. He knew what she was thinking, that maybe they'd just discovered the root of Esperanza's trouble at school, the cause of her acting out at home. Sam had been too busy for them to meet with her teacher, but that one statement led them to believe that they shouldn't wait any longer. He nodded as if she'd said the words. She nodded back, pulled out her phone, and typed a note to herself on it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

As Michael drove Fiona to the hospital, out of the corner of his eye he watched her with growing concern. He remembered how much pain Yvette was in, but Fiona seemed to take it with a lot more strength. Either this was an easier labor, or she was trying to shield him from what she was going through. When they waited for a light to change, she sucked in a breath, let it out in even puffs, and held onto his hand. He knew when things got worse. Only a couple of blocks left, and she grasped his hand so tightly, she threatened to break every bone in it. He looked at her and saw her eyes clamped shut, her mouth open, her chest heaving.

"Fi, we're almost there."

"I...I know, Michael." A small whimper came out as she pursed her lips.

He pulled into the emergency entrance, parked, and ran inside.

Once he was gone, she let out a wail. Michael looked so scared, she didn't want to make a sound that would increase his anxiety. She knew everything was okay, but being a man, he wouldn't understand. A huge contraction hit, and she felt as if the bottom was falling out from underneath her. She screamed, "Michael!"

At that moment, he appeared. He ran beside the three people dressed in scrubs and pushing a gurney. In one graceful movement he opened the door, unfastened her seatbelt, and scooped her up into his arms. She clung to him even as Michael gently lay her on the gurney. She curled into him and didn't want to let go.

"Sir, we've got her. Go move your car, and when you come back in, we'll have her set up for delivery."

Someone gently pushed him away from Fiona, and he watched her disappear into the hospital calling after him. She looked so vulnerable and scared. A lump formed in his throat, and he suddenly felt lost without her. A sense of panic rose up in his chest just as a car pulled up behind his, and Maddie and Samuel got out.

"Ma!"

She hugged him close. "It's okay, Michael. You go in there and be with Fiona. We'll move the car for you. Go on!" She gave him a smile and a gentle shove toward the doors. "I promise, we'll be right in."

Sam and Yvette arrived not long after with the kids, and they found the two in the waiting room. "Where's Mike? Is he in with Fiona?"

"Yeah, Son. There hasn't been any news yet."

"Well, we could be in for a long wait." Sam sat beside his father. "I would think that they would have taken her up to the maternity ward by now."

"I don't know. They disappeared behind those doors and we haven't heard a thing," Maddie answered, her voice rising with anxiety.

"I'll see what I can find out." Sam stood and approached the front desk.

"Grampa," Samuel said and reached out for Samuel Sr.

The old man grinned and reached for him, snuggled him into his arms and his lap, and rested his chin on the little boy's head while they waited for Sam to return. It didn't take long.

"Just as I thought, they took Fi upstairs shortly after they got here. She's on the fourth floor, east wing. The receptionist said they have a nice sitting room on that floor, so we can go up and wait there."

They waited for several hours. The kids played with a huge stockpile of toys, while the adults talked and watched the clock. _What is taking so long? It wasn't like this with Eve!_ Sam wished he'd brought some of his work to keep himself busy, because when the small talk ran out, it was painfully quiet. Even the kids were on their best behavior and kept things soft. He rose out of his seat and walked up and down the hall within earshot of the waiting area. He hoped he might get a glimpse of Michael and hear first-hand how things were going. Yvette joined him, held his hand, and squeezed it.

"I'm sure everything is going just fine."

"It's taking so long, Eve."

"Well, not everybody can get as lucky as I did," she responded with a small laugh.

Sam glanced at her. "That was lucky? When I found you in the bedroom, suffering, I thought you were dying!" He shook his head. "As nice as it would have been to have another one of our own, I'm glad you didn't have to go through that again." He put his arm around her and pulled her close.

On their way back to the waiting area, they saw a nurse walking into the room. "Sam."

"Let's go." They trotted back to the room and burst through the door just as the nurse was about to speak. "Well?"

His voice startled her, and she turned to them with a wide smile. "Fiona's doing very well. She's resting right now."

"How's the baby?" Maddie asked as she came forward.

"Little Lucas Westen is doing just fine." She beamed. "He's healthy, and he's strong. Gave his mother quite the workout, but everyone is doing fine. Even his dad did a stellar job. They should all be ready for visiting in about a half hour or so."

"Thank you," Maddie said, and a wide smile crossed her face. "It's a boy!"

"Aw man!" Esperanza stood behind them with arms crossed, a scowl on her face. "Boys are no fun!"

Sam let out a sigh. "We'll talk about that later, Espie. For now, I want you two to clean up the mess you made with those toys, and then we'll go see Aunt Fiona and the baby."

"Okay." Esperanza was clearly disappointed that her aunt dared to have a boy. Sam knew that in time she would learn that we don't always get what we want, and what we do get, we thank God for and be happy. Maybe once they ironed out this mystery with Esperanza and boys, she would change her tune.

Fiona looked exhausted, but she still glowed with happiness. She held her newborn son wrapped up in a blanket in her arms, and that little bundle kept her and Michael enthralled for their entire visit.

"He's adorable, Fiona," Yvette exclaimed as Fiona finally let someone besides herself hold Lucas. He made a few noises, and she spoke to him. "Listen to you, already talking, huh?"

Sam stood beside her and turned himself so he could see the baby's face. "I think he looks more like Fi, Mike. Even the hair."

"He has Michael's eyes," Fiona responded with pride and glanced up at her husband, smiling at him.

"Just hope they don't turn like Sammy's did. Oh well, maybe he'll get your ability to outwit everybody. Won't that be fun?" He chuckled. Having a sharp child like Esperanza, he knew what it was like to keep one step ahead.

"One thing at a time, Sam." Michael gave him one of those looks that never failed to sober him. "I'm just happy he's here, and that everything's okay." Emotion shadowed his eyes as he looked down at Fiona and clasped her hand. His arm rested on the pillow as he stroked her hair. "I was worried there for awhile."

"What happened?" Maddie looked at the two with concern.

Fiona reassured her with a smile. "It was nothing, Madelyn. Michael just didn't know what to expect."

"I was afraid we were going to have a rerun of Samuel."

"It wasn't near as bad, Michael. How he exaggerates!" She made a dismissive gesture and laughed lightly. "'Twas painful, I'll grant you that, but it wasn't anything I couldn't deal with." She glanced up at Sam. "Too bad for you Michael didn't bet on Lucas's arrival. Yesterday, at the beach, I could have smacked you for being so right."

"Why?"

"I didn't tell Michael, or anybody else, but I was already experiencing pre-labor. I just knew he would get all concerned and then I would never get a moment's peace." Michael shook his head in denial, but Fiona gave him a smug grin. "Anyway, what matters is that Lucas is here, finally." Fiona reached out for the baby, and Yvette cheerfully handed him to her.

"Ma, would you like to hold him?"

Maddie grinned as if she thought she would never be asked. Sam and Yvette stepped aside so she could take the baby from Fiona. Her eyes filled with tears as she picked up his little hand with her finger and caressed it with her thumb. "He's got your hands, Michael. He's so...beautiful." Samuel stepped up beside her and held her by the shoulder as they gave Lucas their full attention.

"He's a keeper, that's for sure," Samuel said awestruck at such a wonderful sight.

Everyone was so busy taking stock of the new little Westen, they didn't pay attention to Esperanza or little Samuel, until they heard Samuel cry. He ran to Yvette and clung to her leg.

"Okay, what happened," Sam asked Esperanza.

"Mama, Espie hit me."

"He was bugging me." She replied in clipped tones. "Can we go home now, Dad? I'm bored."

"This has been a long outing for the kids," Yvette said as she picked up Samuel and swayed with him until he settled down.

"Yeah, you're right. Okay, let's go. It was nice to see Lucas, but, well...all I can say is, enjoy him like he is now." They waved and left the room with Yvette still holding Samuel and Sam clamped his hand around Esperanza's, leading her out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

No one said a word all the way home. Yvette glanced at Sam now and then, but she didn't say anything. There weren't many occasions in their marriage when she'd seen him angry, but this was one of those times, and it was best to let him just work it out of his system on his own. She glanced back to watch Esperanza in the seat behind Sam. She kept her distance from Samuel. The seatbelt helped, but the child pressed her body into the corner near the door, looked out the window as if something outside captured her complete attention, and stewed. _Just like her father. It makes me wonder sometimes how they're not related by blood, and yet their temperaments are so similar._

"Sam, there's still time, we could go to church this morning."

He let out a deep sigh. "I don't think I'm in the right frame of mind to go right now." He glanced sideways at her as he parked in the driveway. "You and Sammy could go. This young lady and I need to have a talk."

She closed the distance between them and whispered, "Be careful, Sam. She's not some high school thug."

"Yeah, I'm trying to keep that from happening." He turned off the car and unsnapped his seatbelt. "See you later. I'll probably have lunch ready when you get back."

"Okay." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and got out. She let Samuel out of his seat and said, "Come on, sweetie, you and I are going to church." Samuel ran inside the open garage and jumped into the coaster wagon. Yvette laughed and followed him, picked up the handle, and navigated the wagon around the car. "See you later!" She waved and walked down the sidewalk to the corner and turned right to head for church.

Sam got out of the car, opened the back door, and wordlessly ushered Esperanza out of the vehicle. She walked ahead of him to the back door, each step plodding like a criminal going to her execution. There was no doubt in his mind that she knew she'd been acting up again and that there were consequences coming. Sam closed the door behind him and Espie ran for the stairs. By the time he got to the bottom, she was in her room and slammed the door.

"You're not getting off that easy, kiddo," he whispered to himself as he climbed the stairs. Disciplining his kids was the one thing that Sam hated the most about being a parent. It hurt him every time just as much as it hurt them, but in school every day he saw the results of sparing the rod and spoiling the child. He was determined that neither Esperanza nor Samuel would grow up that way.

He arrived at her door and knocked.

"I'm in the corner, Dad. You can go away!"

Sam fought the smile that crept across his face. With a shake of his head he dislodged it and replied, "I'm coming in."

"Whatever." She sounded defeated, not disdainful.

Sam opened the door and, as she said, Esperanza stood in the corner where the gable met the walls. Her back was to him, and she stood straight, her arms wrapped around herself. He smoothed a wrinkle on her bedspread and sat down, not sure how to approach this. She needed to be punished for her actions, but he also wanted to know what was behind all these things. She wasn't acting like herself, and it bothered him that he didn't know why.

He spoke softly. "Espie, I need you to help me with something."

She whirled and faced him, her eyes full of questions. "What? What do you need help with, Dad?"

The corner of his mouth tipped up slightly. He always knew how to get her attention. Her deep-seated desires to be needed and loved were always easy targets, and he played on that. Sam patted the mattress next to him and asked, "Can you sit here for a little bit?"

"Sure, Dad!" She stepped forward and plopped down next to him. She looked up with anticipation in her eyes as she asked, "What is it?"

"I want you to talk to me about school."

She looked confused. "Why? It's just...school."

He drew a knee up on the bed and turned to face her. "Is everything going okay? Are you bored? Is it too hard?"

"Well, some of it's kind of boring," she answered truthfully. "Most times it's fun, and I like my friends, and..."

"Do the boys give you trouble?"

Her expression turned like a summer afternoon going from sun to storm without warning. She crossed her arms in front of herself, scowled, and replied, "I hate boys, Dad."

"Why? What do they do?"

"When Mom puts my hair in braids, they pull on them and it hurts. They push us in the playground, for no reason! And they call us names." Her bottom lip worked. "I finally got tired of it, and I took care of Billy Greene the other day on the playground."

"You 'took care of' him?" Sam glanced down at her warily. He had visions of broken and bloody bodies. "What did you do?"

"I karate'd him. Dad, I know you said I shouldn't use those moves unless it was absolutely necessary, but it was necessary! He wouldn't leave me alone!" Her voice rose and she stood as she told him everything. Sam listened and his concern showed on his face.

When she stopped speaking, he reached for her and held her back enough so she could see his face. "Now, Espie, what you did was wrong. Until you attacked that boy, you did everything right. You should have gone to the teacher, or another adult on the playground, and reported him."

"But nobody likes a squealer," she whined.

"No, they don't, but I'll bet that everybody that boy tormented will be happy you did."

"He won't get into trouble, Dad! I know!"

"Okay, here's a plan. The next time a boy taunts you, get in his face and tell him you won't put up with it. Since you've already kicked this kid's butt, he'll probably lay off. If he doesn't, tell him that you _will_ report him, and say it in a way that he knows you mean business." He paused and held her upper arms in his hands as he looked into her eyes. "Just look him in the eye and don't let your voice show him you're scared or you don't mean what you say."

"But..."

"Listen. Then you follow through, and if the teacher won't do anything, you go to the principal. It's his or her job to make sure stuff like this doesn't happen."

"And if that doesn't work...you can come in and teach my class and bust Billy Greene," she ended with a grin.

Sam could barely keep a straight face, but he did. "Sweetheart, I'm not really a teacher. I'm just pretending right now. And busting heads isn't going to solve anything."

She pushed away and stared at him. "I know you can be our teacher! You taught me!"

"I loved teaching you, punkin. And I am kind of enjoying teaching the bigger kids, but that's not what I do. You understand?"

Espie nodded. "I just wish I could stay home and have you teach me all the time."

"You'd miss your friends."

"But not the boys." She pouted and sat down beside him.

He put an arm around her. "You know, there's always one more strategy you can try. Sometimes boys do this stupid stuff because they like you, but they don't want their friends to find out, so they do mean things." He noticed her puzzled expression and continued. "So next time you could always call 'em out on that, start chasing them around, and then they'll see how they like it!"

Esperanza giggled. "Dad, that's too silly!"

"Just try it. Trust me." He smiled at her.

"I do trust you, Daddy." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. He pulled her into his lap,wrapped her in his arms, closed his eyes, and held her for a long time. She didn't call him 'Daddy' very often anymore, and when she did, he knew it was when she loved him the most.

"You know I love you, but I'm still gonna have to punish you."

"I know, Daddy." Her voice was muffled against his shoulder.

"Okay, then." He released her and she slipped from his lap. "I want you to stand in the corner, think about what we talked about, and I'll be back in about fifteen minutes."

"That's a long time, Daddy." Her head tilted.

"Yes, but the sooner you start, the sooner you finish."

Yvette and Samuel returned from church and found that Sam had lunch in the works. She glanced around the living room as they entered the house. "Honey, where's Espie?"

"She's upstairs." Sam stirred a pot of soup. "I had an interesting talk with her. Seems the boys are, well, being boys. She struck back, and she's lucky she didn't get in trouble at school for it." He tested the soup and tossed some more spices into the pot. "I talked to her about what to do next time. I think she got it."

"I guess we'll know soon enough whether it worked." They heard Samuel trotting up the stairs and their eyes went upward. Esperanza's room was directly above the kitchen. "It's too quiet."

Then they heard her voice, but not the words. Sam smirked. "You spoke too soon."

"I better see what's going on." Yvette hurried upstairs while Sam finished setting the table.

Within minutes, the kids ran downstairs and Yvette was right behind them, albeit at a much slower pace. Nobody was crying or screaming, and the look of triumph on Esperanza's face was priceless. "Here you go, Dad. I drew a picture."

He turned from the stove and studied it intently. "Wow, you really took some time with this one!"

"I left the corner after you came downstairs. I went right to work on it."

He would have sent her back up to finish her sentence, but the content of her drawing made him pause. "Did you see this, Eve?"

Yvette smiled and nodded. "I think it's your best work yet, Espie!" She turned, picked two magnets off the refrigerator, and tacked it up on the door. The picture consisted of multiple frames and was executed in greater detail than Espie usually drew, but it effectively communicated what Sam taught her. "You know, Sam, that would make a good anti-bullying poster."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"See? Something good came out of this, and now, hopefully, we'll have a little more peace around here."

Sam exclaimed, "If only it were this simple at school!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Monday morning came, and Sam's guard was up. He thought that he wasn't too old to remember what it was like when he was a teenager, and how weekends were a time to relax from the worries of school. However, it was also a time to get into trouble, and wind up for creating a whole bunch of it at school the first day back. The smart teachers were always on alert for hijinks, and Sam intended to be one of them.

He entered his classroom early to prepare for the day. He set down a styrofoam cup of coffee on his desk along with his books and moved the television and DVD player from the corner. He brought along a visual presentation today, because they jumped ahead to the 20th century after a class discussion on Friday. When this job was over and the real teacher returned he would probably have a fit with Sam for changing things up, but he didn't care, as long as the kids stayed interested and were learning.

"Hey, Sam."

Sam turned from the chalkboard and smiled at his friend. "Jack. Pushing the broom again today, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm tellin' you, Axeman, you got the better end of the deal here." He stopped next to the desk, scanned the board and what Sam had written, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"We're moving into the 20th century this week. Something came up on Friday about military tactics, and the guys really got fired up about it. Some of the girls were really into it too, which surprised the heck out of me." He shrugged. "Anyway, we're going to cover Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and all the places in between, comparing and contrasting them with wars fought for freedom in our country." He winked at Jack. "And if we're still here next week, I'll be grading papers the kids write based on today's lesson."

"Interesting." Jack's face lit up. "You should really consider doing this for a living, Axeman. You've got a gift."

"I don't think so, Jack. I like what I'm doing with you, and Mike." He stood in thought a moment, glanced down at his notes, and continued drawing a diagram on the board. "Besides, dealing with the unruly kids...well, I'm afraid I can only be so creative before they catch on. Right now I'm just hoping I can make this engaging enough that they'll participate instead of instigate."

Jack nodded. "Well, the reason I came in here was to tell you I have some more intel on this gang. I picked it up this weekend when Sash and I were out on a date."

"Mixing work and pleasure?" Sam laughed.

"It was purely by accident, I assure you," Jack replied with a smirk. "Looks like these kids hang out at that new drive-in restaurant on Flagler."

"The one with the carhops on skates?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Jack pulled something out of his pocket and unfolded it.

"They say everything old becomes new again. Please don't tell me they hung out wearing leather jackets and greased their hair."

"No, but it was obvious who they were. I recognized that Nick kid, and Joel. He's obviously the ringmaster in their little circus. Nick thinks he's second lieutenant."

"How many others were there?"

"A half dozen if you include those two." Jack handed him a piece of paper. "Those are their names with pictures. I got this from Carl this morning."

"Uh huh. These kids are all in the files he gave me. So we know who, but how are we going to stop them?"

Jack stepped closer and leaned against the desk. "I think you're doing a good job on your own. You start turning a couple of these kids around and they'll stop hanging with the others. Pretty soon they won't have a gang."

"Joel's the strongest link, and he was pretty unresponsive to my attempts. But then, who knows, it was my first day with him." Sam paused and rubbed his chin. "I'm just not convinced that kid is going to make it easy."

"Then you watch him, Sam, because he may try something extracurricular, if you know what I mean."

Sam nodded. Every day he left the school and walked to his car, he was vigilant against attack from one or more of the kids that he butted heads with. "I'll be careful, Jack. You just keep hanging around."

"Will do, Axeman. Have a good one!" He stepped away from the desk, picked up the broom handle, and pushed some dirt across the floor and into the hallway. He slipped past Nick and one of his friends. They glared at Sam. Nick whispered something to his friend, and he peeled away as Nick entered the classroom.

"You're early, Nick. Did you have a good weekend?"

"It was okay." He walked past Sam and trudged to his seat.

Sam turned his back to finish the board, but he stayed keenly aware of Nick's activities behind him. He heard a sound and turned toward the door. Joel came in, eyeing Sam as he took his seat in front of Nick. He finished writing on the board and turned.

"You guys are both early. Don't you have somewhere you should be right now?" He locked gazes with Joel. "I believe you have Geometry right now, Joel. And Nick, you should be in Biology, if I'm not mistaken."

"What's with you, man? You're like some kind of spy or something, knowing our schedules and stuff," Joel protested with anger in his voice and his body leaning forward, poised to spring at Sam.

_Yeah, now that you mention it... _"Maybe I care about you getting an education?" He smiled. "I'm flattered that you like my class so much, but..."

"It's got nothing to do with your class...Axeman." Nick spat as he unfurled himself from his seat. "Oh yeah, I heard you talking with that guy pretending to be the janitor."

"He's a friend of mine. So what?" Sam stood in front of his desk and crossed his arms casually across his blue and white hawaiian shirt. "We were in the Navy together, and that was my nickname. Big deal."

"No, something else was going on. I heard you guys talking." Nick stood an arm's length away, and Joel covered his back. "I think you're undercover, like a cop."

Sam laughed and shook his head. "You're funny, Nick. Very funny."

"We ain't laughing," Joel muttered as he moved forward.

Sam heard a blade being drawn as Joel closed the distance between himself and Sam. Nick backed out of the way, leaving it clear for Sam to quickly unfold his arms and reach out. He grasped Joel's wrist, twisted, and forced him to his knees in pain. Within seconds the knife clattered to the floor and Sam pressed Joel into his desktop face first with a chokehold, while he twisted the kid's weapon hand behind his back.

Someone gasped just as Nick picked up the knife and was about to come down with it, aiming for Sam's back. "Mr. Axe! What's going on?"

Sam glanced up. "Oh, hi, Kelsey. Meghan. Nothing much. Just showing these guys a few moves I learned in the Navy. Isn't that right, guys?" He hauled Joel up roughly by the arm and nearly popped it out of the kid's socket. He slapped him hard on the back. "Now, that, guys, is how you take out an armed assailant." He chuckled nervously, watching Joel and Nick as the girls took their seats in the front row.

Joel shrugged out of his grip and slunk back to his desk. Nick followed. He glared at Sam, but there was also a sense of disbelief in his eyes. This was the perfect chance to bust them, but he glossed it over and let them go back to their seats as if nothing had ever happened.

"Oh, Nick, can I have that please?" Sam held out his hand for the knife that Nick picked up from the floor. He was half surprised when the teen laid it in his palm, instead of stabbing him through with it. "Thanks." The knife disappeared in the large desk drawer among the cellphones and other contraband that collected in it on a weekly basis.

When the entire class was assembled, Sam started. "After Friday's discussion, I decided we're going to do something different in this classroom. Shake things up a bit." As he talked, Sam paced the floor slowly. He glanced at Joel and Nick long enough to make them uncomfortable, and returned his attention to the others. "I want you to work in teams of three, but I don't want you hangin' with your friends. Starting here, number one through six." He pointed to each student as they counted off. When they were done, he said, "Find your fellow ones, twos, threes, and so on and bunch together." He handed each group a sheet of paper. "On this piece of paper you will find information about a specific war. You'll have twenty minutes to look in your textbooks or get on the computers to find out what you can on this war, the countries involved, the leaders, et cetera. Then we'll discuss what you found, briefly, and your assignment for the week will be, as a group, to come up with as much information as you can to do a presentation on Friday."

"What kind of presentation, Mr. Axe?"

"It can be whatever you want it to be, Meghan. You want to do a paper? Go for it. Anyone with drawing talent? You could create a storyboard. Or a skit. Whatever your creative minds can come up with. The point is it has to be relevant to the subject matter, and cover the main points that are on each of your papers. The rest is up to you. So, you now have seventeen minutes. Get moving."

Nick and Joel each wound up with two girls, which displeased them to no end. Sam sat behind the desk and watched them try to interact with the girls, but they were having no luck. _Tough. They need to learn to work with other people besides their homies, men or women. I just hope the girls are concerned enough about their grades that they don't let the two drag them down to an 'F' on this project._

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. Everyone on the team gets the same grade, so you're accountable to each other. I would suggest meeting outside of class to get this done right." He smiled. "Have fun, ladies and gentlemen." He put his feet up on the desk and opened the textbook, reading and watching the activity around the room.

To Sam's surprise, Meghan took charge of her group, which included Joel. She was one of the quieter students, but she knew the material when she came to class. The other girl read the paper to them, and Meghan immediately came up with a plan. Her hands moved about animatedly as she and the other girl plotted away. Joel looked lost, and his eyes met Sam's, threatening to get him back for this injustice.

Sam expected to have trouble when phys ed classes came around, especially with Nick and Joel in the same session. They were at the pool today, so Sam wore his swimming trunks with one of his older hawaiian shirts. Since his first day, when he got a lay of the land and saw what the other teachers were wearing, he decided that he needed to project a different image. He gained the kids' respect, and after that, he became the cool teacher, so he had to dress the part.

The kids lined up along the pool edge, and he divided them into groups of four. "We're doing the 200 yard relay today, people! Two of your team members on each side of the pool!" Six lanes were filled with teams of four. The first swimmers took their mark, Sam blew the whistle, and the first kids hit the water.

"Hey, Sam."

"Mike!" Sam turned, startled to see his friend standing there, dressed in a suit. "What are you doing here? You're not working, are you?"

"I had a meeting with Pearce this morning and I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd stop by. Nice look, Sam." He eyed Sam's attire and grinned. "So how are things going in the blackboard jungle?"

"Not bad. I had Joel pull a knife on me before second period today."

"That's not bad? I'd hate to see what bad is." Michael scanned the wet students standing on each side of the pool. "Is he here now?"

"He's swimming in lane four. Why?"

"Just sizing up your adversaries." Michael smiled.

"Don't worry about him. I've got everything under control. For the week he's stuck with two girls doing a project on war. Should be interesting to see what they come up with, and if he participates."

"Poor girls."

"No, if he screws around, I think it's gonna be poor Joel. Meghan and Jill take their grades seriously."

Michael laughed. "I didn't know you had it in you, Sam."

"Hey, I can torture as well as the next guy. But seriously, Mike, this was just fate. I had nothing to do with it."

"Ah, so that's him, huh?" Michael peered at the tall kid who got out of the pool and glared at them. "He's wiry, but he looks tough. Be careful, Sam."

Sam sighed. "That's what everybody keeps telling me. It's okay! But if I need any help I'll ask. I've already had to disarm the kid, so he knows he's gonna have to be careful trying to mess with me."

"Just the same..." He patted Sam's arm. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, you go home and take care of that baby!" Sam turned and found the last swimmer touching the side of the pool. "Okay, that was good, but let's step it up. I want to see you shave off thirty seconds! Come on, that's not much! One more relay!"

As class wound down, he gave them some free swim time. Sam recorded the results of the relays in a notebook while he sat on the bleachers. He sensed someone standing nearby and looked up.

"Can I help you, Joel?"

"Nick says you were a frog or something in the Navy."

Sam cocked a grin. "A SEAL."

"What's that mean?"

"It stands for SEa, Air, and Land. We were trained to handle any mission that involved any of those things. Why do you ask?"

"So you've got to be a pretty good swimmer, huh?"

Sam nodded, not sure what he was getting at. "Speaking of, you and Nick are not bad yourselves. You scored some of the best times on the relay."

Joel wasn't impressed. "I wanna challenge you, man."

"Challenge me? What do you mean?"

"A race. We swim 200 yards, no relay. Just mano a mano."

"There's no time left today," Sam said as he glanced at his watch.

"Tomorrow, then."

"I'll see if I can..." The bell rang, rescuing him from giving Joel a definite answer.

"Looking forward to it, Axeman." He sneered and walked away with Nick.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"You're not seriously gonna take this kid on, are you, Sam?"

"Ha, no way, Mike! Not that I'm afraid of losing, but...well, it wouldn't be professional. Not to mention I'd be running the risk of him trying to take me out in the pool."

"You mean, he'd be running the risk of getting his butt kicked in the pool," Jack threw in his opinion as he tossed another log on the fire. "Joel, that is, not you Axeman."

"Thanks, Jack."

Jack nodded and turned to Michael. "Seriously, Sam was always the best in class in the underwater combat exercises. I'd be more scared for the kid."

"Whatever. The point is, this Joel is setting you up for something, and I don't like it. I think you need help."

"What'd you have in mind?" Sam studied his friend. He was supposed to be home with his new family, but instead he was hanging out in Sam's back yard trying to get in on the action.

"I thought maybe you could use another pair of eyes in that school."

"I don't know, Mike. We'd have to split the fee three ways then," Jack said as he glanced at Sam with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Besides, what would you do? We've already got Sam infiltrating as a teacher, and sorry man, but you're too old to play a student."

"I think they need a secretary in the office," Sam suggested as he scratched his cheek while he thought. Then his face broke into a grin. "Just kidding, Mike! Seriously though, a maintenance guy is as good a cover as any. You'd have access to the entire building all day and after hours if needed."

"I agree, a maintenance worker is the best cover." Jack glanced at Michael. "Seriously, Mike, you should be home with Fi and Lucas, but if you're that hard up to work with us, welcome to the team."

"Thanks," Michael said with a smile.

Getting down to business at last, Jack said, "I think Mike's right, that these guys have been pushed enough. They're going to try something soon, and you're sticking your neck out to be their target."

"On purpose. I want them to go after me, rather than some unsuspecting student." Sam's eyes reflected the fire from within as well as the flames dancing before him.

"I wish we didn't have to have them go after anybody," Jack said as he shook his head. "But then what would be the point to us being there?"

"Exactly," Sam exclaimed. "We're trying to catch them in the act, and the only way to do that is to create a situation where we have control, but they get trapped. Right, Mikey?"

Michael nodded. "I'd like to shadow these kids for a few days, kind of pop in and out so they don't get suspicious, but enough to have a feel for them and their behavior. Maybe spy on them interacting with the other gang members." Michael glanced at Sam and Jack. "Now that's something you guys haven't really been able to do, at least not you, Sam. Jack?"

"I've been trying to keep an eye on them but like you said, it gets too hairy when they see me following them around, so I've been really limited in what I can do."

Michael nodded. "Okay, it's settled then. Call your friend Carl and tell him I'm the new maintenance guy starting Monday."

"Okay."

"Thanks, Mike."

"No problem, Sam. I just don't want you to get into something you can't get yourself out of."

"Unlike some people I know." He gave Michael a look.

Michael decided to let that one slip by. With a grin, he stood. "Okay, I have to get back home. Night Sam, Jack, see you at school on Monday." He clamped a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Thanks for letting me in on this job."

Michael disappeared into the night, and it was just the two men. "I suppose I should get inside and hit the sack. Five classes a day is rough!"

"Oh, like gym is all that bad?" Jack barked out a laugh.

"When you have to keep watching your back, you betcha! Home ec would be tough with that kind of pressure!"

"Yeah, cooking utensils can be dangerous." Jack snickered.

"In the wrong hands, they could be." Sam gave him a meaningful glance, the silence lengthening as they remembered a time long ago.

"You still won't forgive me for that..."

"Hey, I forgive you, but the memory will always remain. All I can say is, thank God for MREs. Little chance of your buddy giving you food poisoning in the field."

"Oh, I'm hurt!" Jack sniffled dramatically. "And with that, I'm off. See you tomorrow, Axeman!"

"Night, Jack." Sam stood and began to put out the waning fire. When he sufficiently doused it with water and all that rose up were weak tendrils of steam, he retreated to the house. Yvette was asleep and so were the kids. He took a quick shower to get rid of the smoke smell and slipped into bed. "I'm going to need a lot of protection soon. Thanks for getting Mike involved." With that final whispered prayer, he fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

As Sam walked into the school, he saw an aluminum ladder reaching for the ceiling among the streaming bodies. He glanced up and saw Michael standing half way up the rungs replacing a lightbulb that probably didn't really need replacing. It just gave him a bird's eye view of the hall. He neared his classroom and discovered Joel, Nick, and a few others in their gang hanging around the locked door.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Sam said as he squeaked past and jingled his keys. He shifted his load to his right hand and unlocked the door. "Wow, you're so eager to come to class, you had to bring your friends too, huh?"

"Not exactly." Joel moved to within a few inches of Sam. "I wanted to remind you about our little match. The one we were supposed to have on Friday."

"Look, I said we'd do it if there was time. There wasn't any."  
>"Then what about today, before class, just you and me." Joel smirked and leaned against the door frame. "You want everybody to think you're this cool guy who was some big hotshot special forces dude, but until you prove to me that you're a better swimmer, I've gotta wonder. And so do a lot of other people. Maybe you're just hype, man."<p>

"I don't have to prove anything to you. But I can see that I'm just not going to get any rest from this broken record of yours so, okay, let's do it. Today, five minutes before the start of class. You're not there, you forfeit. Deal?" He stuck out his hand, and Joel shook it.

"Deal."

The students who weren't in his class broke off and walked down the hall, and Joel and Nick retreated into the classroom. Sam let out a big breath as Michael passed him in the hall. Their eyes met, Michael's chiding him, and Sam's apologetic. There was no other way to end this. Sam held up two fingers. _Two pm, be there._ Michael nodded and kept moving down the hall.

Word of the swimming match spread like wildfire. In the teacher's cafe, everyone looked at Sam when he entered, but no one spoke to him about the challenge. Only Sue had the nerve to approach him.

"Sam, is it true? Are you really going to swim a race against Joel Hagan?"

"It's true. Why is everyone so excited about it?" He opened his lunch bag and pulled out its contents like he did every day.

"Joel was a JV long-distance swimmer before he came here, and he won tournaments! He's going to kick your butt, Sam!"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Aren't you afraid of what Mr. Larkin will say?"

"I'm hoping to teach this kid a lesson, that he can't just threaten people and get away with it. What Mr. Larkin does after that lesson is taught, well, that's up to him."

"You've obviously gotten your spin together on this." She shook her head in amazement. "Good luck, Sam. We're all hoping you win."

He glanced around the room. The other teachers looked at him with guarded respect for what he was trying to do. If they weren't so concerned about keeping their jobs, they might have done something a long time ago. It was no wonder that Sam, Jack, and Michael had to come in and save this school from the thugs, but how long would it take after they left for things to go back to the way they were?

After lunch, Sam walked the hall to the pool. It felt as if every eye glanced his way, and he heard his name whispered among the students. Michael came off a side hall and fell into step with him.

"Sam, we have a problem."

"You're telling me! Everybody knows about this!"

"You have to call it off," Michael advised sharply.

"No! If I do that, I'm going to look like a coward and everything I've done up to this point would have been for nothing." He glanced at his friend. "I'm sorry, I have to do it."

"And if you lose, you'll still undo everything."

"That's a chance I have to take. But if I back down, it's a sure bet." He turned toward the locker rooms. "Just have a little faith that I can do this, Mike. Please!"

"He's younger, lighter..."

"But I've been working out, Mike. I'm in better shape than he is, believe it or not. I've seen him smoking outside, he doesn't have the lung capacity to get the job done." He smiled. "You're forgetting that I've seen his relay numbers. They were good for a short distance, but for longer, it's not good enough." Sam pushed the door and entered the locker room, and he turned back once more to add. "You know I can go the distance."

Michael sighed, shook his head, and moved toward the public entrance to the pool along with half the student body. He found Jack already inside staking out a prime spot in the front row of the bleachers that sat on a terrace with easy access to the pool, just in case they would have to jump to Sam's aid. By the time 1355 rolled around by Michael's watch, the bleachers were full on both sides and the ends were packed with students and teachers alike. Mr. Larkin himself appeared with his secretary, and he stood at the finish line, arms crossed, a scowl on his face.

"Looks like Carl isn't too happy about this, but he couldn't stay away."

Michael nodded. "Either that, or he was hoping his presence would stop it."

Jack chuckled. "Not likely. He's never dealt with the mass of stubborn known as Sam Axe."

"That's the truth."

Joel appeared in his tight fitting speedo and a minority of students cheered and whistled for him. He nodded, grinned, and waved to the crowd as if he'd already won.

"Oh dear god, I hope Sam doesn't come out in a..." Michael began, just as Sam exited the locker room.

"You can look, Mike, it's not so bad." Jack laughed at him.

While it wasn't as tight fitting as Joel's suit, Sam ditched the loose, knee-length suit he wore for class and donned something more streamlined. Without a word he stepped up on the platform for lane two, and Joel chose lane four.

The football coach stood up with a cap gun. "Gentlemen, take your marks, get set..." Bang!

The gun went off and Sam got the jump on Joel. His legs sprung him off the platform and he soared over the water for several yards before plunging in. He wasted little time gliding, but took off swimming immediately. Joel was already three yards behind.

With all the screaming and yelling from the stands, it was hard for Sam to hear the splashes of his own strokes, let alone Joel's. So he concentrated on making smooth, even movements to pull himself through the water. The wall came up fast, and he flipped around, pushed off, and gained more distance on Joel. He had to be careful to pace himself. It was a short race of only four laps, but if he wasn't careful he could lose steam at the end and Joel, if he was conserving his energy, could surge ahead.

"Mike, look at him go! He's gonna win," Jack yelled as he jumped in his seat beside the other man. "Come on, Sam! Show 'em what a SEAL is made of!"

Someone started a chant, calling his name over and over. Behind them, Jack saw several of Sam's students sitting on the bleachers. The girls changed the chant and included foot stomping.

"Sam, Sam, he's our man!" Stomp. Stomp. "Sam, Sam, he's our man!" It spread up and down the rows until everyone was doing it. The whole arena throbbed with the sound as Sam and Joel hit the home stretch.

Sam had a body's length on Joel, but the younger man tried to close it down. Michael saw the look on Sam's face as he realized how close the kid was to beating him, and when his face went back into the water, his arms pulled harder to propel him forward. He didn't glide into the finish line, he ran into it with his arms at full speed and his feet hit the pool floor. He swiped the hair out of his eyes as his chest heaved. He turned his head in time to see Joel's hand touch the side of the pool.

The girls behind Jack and Michael screamed so loud, Jack thought he would be deaf for a week. They jumped and hugged each other, rejoicing in their teacher's victory. Jack tapped Michael's arm, and he looked up at them. Then he looked at Jack.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Michael yelled over the chaos. "Sam is not going to believe this when we tell him!"

"I knew he could do it!" Jack beamed and threw his fist in the air in victory.

Michael had his doubts about the race, but after seeing the crowd's reaction, he was proud of Sam. And he showed it by standing up and clapping his hands along with the student body.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Sam's victory had repercussions all over the school. He severely damaged Joel's clout as a tough thug, since he couldn't beat a guy nearly three times his age. Joel's fellow gang members disbanded, and seeing the resistance from the students, a couple requested to be transferred to other schools. The others faded into the population, morally beaten down into submission, because without their leader they didn't have the courage to stand on their own. Sam became a hero to those who thought they were unable to go against Joel and his friends before this. But not everyone was happy with his methods.

After his triumph, Sam expected to finish out the week as substitute, because the real teacher took advantage of the situation and went on a long cruise with his wife. He wouldn't be back until the next week. Wednesday night, since Sam knew Yvette would be over at Maddie's with the kids, he decided to stay late and ready the classroom for the next day and correct some papers.

"Mr. Axe?"

He looked up and met the eyes of someone he didn't know. "Yes. May I help you?"

"I'm Mr. Sanborn. I'm with the school board." Sanborn came forward and took the hand Sam offered as he stood.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Sanborn. Something I can do for you, Sir?"

He smiled at Sam's politeness. "I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Axe, and your teaching methods. I'm quite impressed."

"Thank you, Sir."

"I, rather, we, the board, heard about your challenge against a student, Joel Hagan. It caused quite the disruption around here."

"Yes, Sir, and I'm sorry about that. It wasn't meant to get out like that, but you know how kids are..." He gave him a weak smile.

"Yes, well..." He leaned closer to Sam and lowered his voice. "I had a nice little chat with Mr. Larkin, and he told me that he hired you to come in and flush out the riff raff. That he brought you in and you don't even have a license to teach. Never mind that you don't belong to the teacher's union!"

"That's all correct, Sir. But look at what we accomplished!"

"The end doesn't justify the means, Mr. Axe. You're lucky we don't prosecute you."

"For what? Last I checked, there was no law against impersonating a teacher."

Sanborn narrowed his eyes and his expression turned sour. "You're expected to be at the board meeting tonight, Mr. Axe. It's in a half hour." He turned on his heel and strode out the door, leaving Sam no chance to reply.

He considered not going, but he wasn't sure what the ramifications would be. He called Michael on his way to the auditorium where the meeting would be held. "Hey Mike, it's me. Looks like I got myself into hot water with the school board. Some guy named Sanborn came to my classroom and demanded I be at the meeting in a half hour."

"Are you going?"

"Yeah, I'm going! I don't think I should skip out. I'll just tell 'em the facts, and let them speak for me. I don't know what they can do. Fire me?" He laughed nervously.

"If you need some support..."

"Nothing tactical, but moral support would be great."

"I'll call Jack and we'll be there in about ten minutes."

"Thanks, brother."

Sam waited outside the auditorium for Michael and Jack, but then he realized that he was only perpetuating the strength in numbers mentality that made Joel so successful. He heard a gavel and a voice inside, glanced at his watch, and his stomach lurched. Jack and Mike were late. So Sam turned, pushed the door open and entered the auditorium alone. The door squeaked announcing his arrival, and the board members looked up from their agendas as they sat on stage at a long table. Their faces registered their unhappiness. Sam hesitated, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly as he approached the stage.

"Mr. Axe, you can be seated up here," Mr. Sanborn said as he indicated for Sam to sit in a chair under the hot lights, and it seemed as if every one of them was trained on it. He sat, crossed his legs, and rested his hands in his lap. As he made eye contact with everyone on the board one by one, they stared back and seemed to frown even more. It reminded him of the last time he faced a tribunal not unlike this one, but for far different reasons.

"Mr. Axe," a man at the far end of the table whose plaque read Mr. Diaz, spoke first. "Who hired you to work as a substitute at this school?"

"Mr. Carl Larkin, Sir."

"Was Mr. Larkin aware that you did not have a license to teach?" Ms. Johnson asked.

"I'm pretty sure he knew I didn't have a license, but you'd have to ask him that yourself." The corner of his mouth tipped up. "Ms. Johnson, may I ask why everyone is so hung up on my not having a license to teach? Is it not true the the board regularly hires people in the community to instruct in various subjects even though they have no license, and have in fact taken no teaching classes whatsoever?"

"That is true, Mr. Axe. However..."

"In my past as a team leader, I had plenty of opportunity to teach non-comms and lower grade officers in various skills such as weapons firing and handling, tactics, survival, water rescue, and..."

"That's enough, Mr. Axe!" Sanborn raised his voice and banged his gavel.

Sam barely batted an eyelash. "I'm sorry, Sir. I was merely stating my qualifications to teach, and questioning how others are hired without the magic license and without the...persecution...that I'm being forced to deal with right now. And, for your information, as further evidence of my qualifications, I taught my daughter at home and prepared her for the second grade. When we started she could barely speak English, and in six months she was at grade level and above in some subjects. She passed the state tests. They're on file if you care to see them."

"No, Mr. Axe." Mr. Chase, a man who appeared to be quite wealthy, judging by his suit and grooming, spoke as he folded his hands on the table. Sam wondered if the school was named after him. "Our concern is that you came into this school without board permission to complete a task that was not sanctioned by us."

"Ah, so you're upset that Larkin took the initiative to rid this school of some problems that threatened to put a cork in your charter school system if word got out. And for that you want to crucify me?" He leaned back, glanced up at the rafters, and returned his gaze to them. "You should be grateful. He did you a favor."

"It created publicity that we did not want."

Sam uncrossed his legs, leaned forward, and rested his elbows on his knees. "Think of the publicity you would have had if some kid tried to go up against them and failed. What if a student got hurt, or even killed, by these punks? How would that have looked on your precious school's résumé?" Sam sighed and stood. "You know what, if this is such a problem, I'll be happy to give up my position. I'm only here until Friday anyway, but if you want to be rid of me, fine. I'm gone. As for how I got here, I told you what I know, we did the job, and it's over. No use crying over spilled milk, as they say."

He turned with precision and began to walk off-stage. "Mr. Axe." He stopped, turned, and faced them. Mr. Sanborn stood. "Thank you for your service to our country, and our school. We'll take this matter up with Mr. Larkin."

"You're welcome, Mr. Sanborn. And thanks. There are some really good students in this school, and I actually enjoyed teaching them." He gave them a bittersweet smile. He suddenly realized that he would miss the kids.

"If you should decide to continue teaching on a more permanent basis, please get your license and come back. We would be happy to have you."

"I'll think about it." _Maybe after the school board elections._


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

He returned to his classroom, finished grading the papers, and stuffed them into the desk drawer. He locked the desk, picked up his books and bag, and headed for the parking lot, locking the classroom on the way out. The lot was almost empty of cars, except for the board members' vehicles and a few spectators to the proceedings. _I can't believe that Jack and Mike never showed!_ He didn't see either of their cars in the lot, further evidence that for some reason they left him to pull his own bacon out of the fire. But a part of him knew something wasn't right. They would never willingly leave him alone in a situation like this. He glanced around the lot, but it was clear, so he continued walking to his car. At that point, his concern for Mike and Jack was greater than that for his own safety.

He unlocked the driver's side door and threw his things in the passenger seat, then got inside. Before he could get his foot in and close the door, someone reached in, grabbed him by the shirt, and violently threw him out onto the pavement. He slid a couple feet and tiny pieces of dirt and gravel embedded themselves into his hands as he tried to stop himself. Despite the sting, he used his hands to push up, but a foot came from the darkness and slammed into his side. The momentum threw him to his back. He groaned and stared up at five figures dressed in black and silhouetted against a lone mercury light.

"Time to teach the teacher a lesson!"

He recognized Joel's voice muffled slightly by a ski mask. Hands grabbed and picked him up, setting him on his feet. He elbowed one of his captors in the chest and chopped at another's throat. They fell back and everyone let him go. For one second, he thought maybe he could make a break for it. Then he felt the prongs of a taser dig into his back and the electricity rushed through his body, sending him to his knees. By the time he collapsed face first, he was out cold.

"Come on, man, hurry up!"

"We gotta do this before he wakes up, or someone comes."

When Sam regained consciousness he was being carried somewhere. His hands and feet were bound by duct tape and his mouth was covered with it. He faked unconsciousness until he knew where they were taking him and he could find a means of escape. Besides, it would irritate them to no end to have to drag his carcass around for awhile.

"Okay, you got it open?"

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, get him in here!"

Sam smelled the strong odor of chlorine. _They're taking me to the pool. No doubt they're going to dump me in and expect me to drown. Nice try, guys!_ He continued to pretend that he was unresponsive as they moved him closer to the water.

"Crap!" Joel stepped into the gutter that ran around the edge of the pool and got a wet foot for his efforts. "Okay, throw him in! Now! Then let's get out of here!"

The back of Sam's shirt got wet Then he felt himself being lifted high. It was his last chance to fight, but if he let them throw him in, he could then make his escape. His body hovered for a moment over the water, and as he broke the barrier between air and water, he inhaled one last breath through his nose. He quickly discovered that he was in the deep end, and he sank to the bottom. It was dark, inky black without the usual overhead lighting. But he had no time to think about that. In about two to three minutes he would be without air, if he still had the chops to hold his breath that long. He had no choice. His life depended upon it.

He'd been well trained in underwater escape, even if he were bound as he was at the moment, so he attempted to swim to the shallow end, just far enough to get upright and catch some fresh air. Then he could worry about freeing himself. But something caught hold of his feet and held him in place. He struggled and kicked at it, but it wouldn't budge. Then he realized that they'd weighed him down with a cinderblock. He tried dragging it, but that caused him to lose air. His lungs were beginning to ache. He felt lightheaded. Only one more chance, that's all he had left.

With his hands bound, it was difficult but not impossible to pull the block toward himself. He fought to keep the last of his air while expending energy to pull the block. His head felt as if it would explode from the effort.

_It's no use. This is one mess I'm...not...getting out...of..._

Sam lost consciousness and sank back down to the bottom of the pool. He never knew just how close help was and missed seeing the flicker of light across the surface of the water.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Mike, where is he?" Jack flashed a light across the soft waves. "The surface is still agitated, so he must not have gone down long ago."

"I'm going in," Michael exclaimed as he slipped out of his shoes and dove in fully clothed.

"Sam! Come on, surface, dammit!" Jack ran across the slick tiled surface, slipping and sliding on spots of wet tile, and found a bank of switches. He turned them all on, and the overhead lights came to life. He rushed back to the deep end where he saw two shadowy figures. They seemed to become one under the shifting surface, and suddenly they broke through. Michael gasped for air and tried to hold Sam's still body aloft. Jack jumped in and helped him bring Sam to the edge of the pool, and they got out, picked him up and dropped him as gently as they could on the tile surface. Michael ripped the tape off Sam's mouth while Jack slipped a knife from his pocket and severed the tape around his wrists. As Jack worked on the ankle bindings, Michael started rescue breathing.

Jack tested several of Sam's pulse points as he worked his way up to his chest. "He doesn't have a pulse, Mike." Jack ripped open Sam's shirt, used his knife to cut the undershirt, and began chest compressions. They worked together, frantically trying to bring life back to their friend.

Not even running feet could get their attention. Then someone reached out, pulled them away, and left them to stand watching helplessly. Several pairs of hands lifted Sam away from the water and onto a dry blanket. A paramedic took over CPR while another placed leads on Sam's chest with quick efficiency. Someone placed a mask over his face and forced air into him. Michael and Jack watched helplessly as they shocked Sam.

"Nothing. Try it again."

The unit charged, and when it was ready, the paramedic announced. "Clear." Everyone backed off, and he shocked Sam again. "Nope. Let's try it again."

One more time. One last hope. Again, they were unsuccessful, and the paramedic shook his head.

"No, you can't stop!" Jack pulled out of the hands that held him and rushed forward. "Just give him one more chance!" He fell to his knees near Sam's head, the air sucking in and out of his own chest as if his breaths could somehow bring his friend back to life.

"Okay, clear." The charge ran through Sam's body, his back arched again, and nothing happened. They hung their heads. One paramedic studied his watch. "Time of..." _Blip...Blip... Blip. _

Everyone's eyes rose and they looked at each other. After a few seconds they finally inhaled and stared at the monitor in disbelief as it began to show signs of a heart coming back to normal rhythm. Jack was a big, strong guy, but he wasn't afraid to shed tears of relief. The beeping strengthened as the paramedics worked on Sam and finished preparing him for transport.

Sam had been floating around for awhile. The water was warm, inviting, and he wasn't afraid of drowning in it. It was light everywhere, and he couldn't see any details, but he knew that wherever he was, it provided a safe haven. He tried calling out, but he couldn't hear his own voice. It was still and quiet, peaceful. He could get used to it. Then something slammed him into a hard surface. Not just once, but three more times. He heard voices, a beeping sound, and when he tried to take a breath, it was as if his lungs were paralyzed. It was too hard, too draining to regain consciousness. He gave in and fell under the cover of oblivion.

As he became aware again, he heard soft voices. They sounded so far away. He tried to move toward them, but he was tied down. No, he was bound with duct tape. He moaned through the tape across his mouth and stirred, feeling a pressure in his chest. The voices grew excited and rose in volume. If he could just get closer, maybe they could help him! He felt the light feathery touch of a woman's hand and heard her voice. Yvette. But wasn't she drowning in the ocean? He dove in and tried to save her. He must have failed. Sam wanted to cry, because he loved her and she was lost to the water. A great sense of weariness overcame him, and he succumbed again.

_Three days. It's been three days since they pulled you from the water. Why won't you wake up?_ The sounds of tears and words worked themselves into Sam's brain. He swore he heard them speaking to him on many occasions. He wanted to wake up, he really did. But it was too hard.

_Daddy this math is too hard. I can't do it!_

_ Yes you can, sweetheart. You're smart, you can master this!_

_ Mr. Axe, I don't understand why a stupid battle from two hundred years ago is going to have any meaning for me._

_ A famous man once said that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it._

_ These kids need our help!_

_ You've got a lot of people counting on you, Son. Don't let them down._

_ Mr. Axe...Sam...Sammy...Honey..._

Too many voices calling out to him. Pulling at him to come back. Out of all of them, he missed his wife and family the most. He wanted to be able to see his kids grow up, graduate, make something of themselves and have great lives. His will to see that happen overcame everything, and on the fourth day, he mentally crawled out of the hole he was in and opened his eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"Sam?"

He felt a hand on his head, touching his hair, and he blinked to clear away the last of the cobwebs in his brain. "M-Mike?" He saw his friend's face and dark shadows under his piercing blue eyes, which were filled with emotion. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, Sam. You've been here for..." He consulted his watch. "Four days. We were all worried you were never going to wake up." He blinked. "I'm sorry we weren't there, Sam. This never would have happened if we'd gotten there in time."

"What are you talking about?" Sam found it hard to speak. "My throat...hurts."

"It should. You had a breathing tube down it for two days." Michael pulled back and grabbed the rail. "We were on our way to the meeting, and we got into an accident. Some guy just pulled right out in front of me." He paused. "It was one of the gang members, Sam. He tried to stop us from getting to the school so the others could drop you into the pool, weighed down by a cement block."

He clamped his eyes shut and let out a shuddering breath. "I remember that."

"When Jack recognized the kid, we ran for the school. We were only a few minutes away by car. It was far enough for you to...we almost lost you, Sam."

"But I'm okay now, right?"

Michael shook his head. "I don't know. They'll probably have to do a bunch of tests to see if you have any neurological problems."

"Neurowhatsis?"

"Neu-ro-lo-gi-cal, Sam."

Sam smiled and let out a weak laugh. "Sorry, I was just messin' with ya, Mike."

Michael frowned as his hands clamped onto the rail, his knuckles turning white. "Yeah, well, nobody was laughing when they had to zap you four times to get your heart started again."

The gravity of his situation began to settle in, and he shifted in his bed. "Where's Eve?"

"She and Espie are here. They have a room where relatives can stay, and they've been taking it up for the past four days, on and off, when they weren't at your bedside. Samuel is with Ma and your dad. Yvette just left your side about a half hour ago. I'm going to go get her, so you just...just stay awake, okay?"

"I think I've had enough being unconscious for awhile. I want to see my family."

He closed his eyes for a few moments, and then he heard feet running, heavy breathing, and crying. When he opened them, he came eye to eye with the one he wanted to see so badly. "Eve."

"Oh Sam!" She bawled out his name and tears ran like rivulets down her face as she reached over the rail to hold him.

"Daddy! Daddy! Uncle Mike, I can't see him!"

"Okay, here you go."

Suddenly, Esperanza's body was snuggled up against his. He moved his arm to encircle her and he leaned closer to Yvette to kiss her lips. It took a lot of his energy, and within a few minutes he was sleeping, but at least he had those precious minutes and his family knew he was going to make it.

The doctors put him through so many tests, Sam wasn't sure he would survive them. Finally, the doctor entered the room that was beyond capacity with visitors. Besides Yvette, Esperanza and Samuel, Maddie, his father, Michael, Fiona and Lucas, there were nearly a half dozen more friends.

"Mr. Axe...Sam...do you remember me?"

"Yeah, Dr. Wharton."

The doctor smiled. "I've gotten the results from all your tests, and frankly, I'm amazed. From the first responders' estimation, you were underwater at least five to seven minutes. The water temperature was approximately 69 degrees. You went into cardiac arrest on the scene and it took four tries to revive you. With all you went through, and after four days in a coma, there are no serious lasting effects from your ordeal. There should have been some brain, neurological, or organ damage, but there is absolutely nothing."

"It's a miracle, that's what it is," Tom whispered, his voice husky with emotion.

"If there was some room in here, I'd be Tebowing," somebody in the back said, and they all laughed.

Overwhelmed by this new life he'd been given, Sam covered his eyes with his forearm and fought for control of his emotions.

Samuel said, "We better let Sammy get some rest. Come on, everybody. We'll come back later. Take care, Son, and we'll see you at home real soon."

When Sam uncovered his eyes, it was just him in the room with the doctor and his family. "I want to keep an eye on some of your numbers for another day, Sam, but I think we'll be able to release you tomorrow."

"Wow. Thanks, Doc."

"You're welcome." He patted Sam's shoulder. "And God bless you."

"He already has," Sam answered as he smiled at Yvette and the kids.

Then they were alone, and he couldn't get enough of holding them. As he cradled Samuel in his arms, he asked Yvette, "What ever happened with my dad? With his doctor appointment?"

"He wanted to postpone it, but we made him go." She smiled and stroked his hair. "He's going to be okay. It was just some chemical imbalance from some of the drugs he was taking, combined with, of all things, aspirin!"

"Really?"

"Really!" She shook her head. "He was taking it for aches and pains, and he didn't tell the doctor at his checkup. Now he's on something for rheumatoid arthritis that won't react with the other stuff he's taking. The doctor said the arthritis was from too many years jumping out of planes and doing all kinds of crazy things in his SEAL days."

"Oh great, now I have that to look forward to!"

"Let's just take it one step at a time, shall we? You're here, you're alive and healthy, and that's all that matters. I love you so much, and I thank God that we didn't lose you."

"Me too." Just the simple act of kissing her and being able to breathe again made him glad to be alive.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Sam's first night at home in his bed felt like heaven on earth. It was a cool night, so they slept with the windows open and enjoyed the sweet soft breeze coming inside. In the morning, the birds twittered louder than he remembered, and he rejoiced in another day he could lie in bed and enjoy the sound.

Yvette was downstairs making breakfast, and Esperanza ran down the steps. "Mom, I can't find my hair thingy!" A few moments later he heard her feet pounding up the steps again as she ran in to the bathroom. Drawers opened and closed with force, eliminating the last bit of sleep that Sam hoped to capture.

"Espie, is this what you're looking for?" He called out to her and held aloft a hair band that she left on his night stand.

She smiled as she entered the room, snatched it from his hand, and said, "Yes! Thank you, Dad!" She planted a noisy kiss on his cheek. "I hope you're feeling better today."

"Yeah, I am. Thanks for asking, honey." He sat up, dropped his feet to the floor, and hugged her. "Say, how are things going with the boys these days?"

"They're not so bad. Now that they know I'm a force to be reckoned with," she replied and flexed an arm muscle.

"Espie...you didn't beat up another one, did you?"

She giggled and snuggled closer. "No, Daddy. I just did what you said, and I had to tell on one of them, but since then, it's been pretty good. A couple of them are even kind of fun to play kickball with. Except when they throw too hard." She held up her arm and showed him a red scuff near her elbow. "That's what they do."

"Oh yeah, for some reason, boys like to whip balls at girls. Happens all the time."

"That's okay. I'm learning how to whip it back." She giggled again, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and said, "I have to get going. Zoe and I are walking to school together!"

"See you later, punkin. You have a good day."

"I will. You too, Daddy." She smiled at him, turned out of his grasp, and ran downstairs.

"Holy cow! Sam!"

He heard Yvette's exclamation and hit the stairs running. He reached the bottom and found her standing in the front vestibule with the door open, looking outside at the one oak tree that survived the destruction of their last house. His eyes widened as he took in the white streamers floating in the wind, and when he got the full view, he gaped.

"I never thought this would happen to us," Yvette breathed as she stared at the tree covered in toilet paper. "At least, not until one of the kids got to high school, and even then I'd hoped it wouldn't happen."

At the foot of it, someone planted a hand painted sign that they read from inside the house. "Welcome home, and thanks! From Mr. Axe's History Class."

Sam didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Laugh at the bizarre way his students chose to express their appreciation, or cry at all the work he would have to do to get the paper out of the tree.

"Well, I was thinking I didn't have anything to do today but help Mike on a case. Guess, I'll have to postpone that," he said with a hint of laughter.

"Sam, you are not going back to work already! You need a week to rest up, the doctor said so!"

"It's just some intelligence gathering. He and Jack are going to do the rest." He paused and gave her a charming smile. "I swear!"

"Okay," she sighed. "Don't worry about the tree. Maybe we can get those kids to come back and clean it up."

"I wonder how long Mrs. Petersen will tolerate it," he mused aloud as he started upstairs to get dressed and ready for the day.

"Sam! I'm not even going there!"

From upstairs, Sam could see the kids' handiwork in the tree, but not the sign. It was such a silly thing, but the thought was what counted. _Maybe I should consider going back, if and when things ever wind down with Mike. But by then I might be too old for handling the trouble makers._ Just the thought of them made him tired. Yvette was right, he really did need his rest. So instead of getting himself together, he dropped back onto the bed for a few more winks. That was where she found him lying on his stomach, one arm hanging off the bed, asleep, when she wanted him to come to breakfast; but she smiled, dropped a light kiss on his temple, and left him alone.

She whispered, "Sleep well, Mr. Axe. We love you."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

After a few more hours of sleep, Sam felt more like himself, and once he had something to eat, he was ready to face the day, even if it was almost half over. He and Yvette sat at the kitchen table sharing the last of the coffee while Samuel sat in a chair between them and scribbled in a coloring book.

"So, I suppose now that you're up, you're going over to the loft to help Michael?" She held her cup in both hands and looked over the rim at him with a disapproving gaze.

"No, actually, I wanted to stop by the school and give Carl the keys to the classroom and the desk. I'm sure they probably have duplicates, but I want to make sure he gets them back." He glanced out the window, the scenery the last thing on his mind.

Yvette smiled. She knew the real reason he wanted to visit the school. "If you want to catch the kids in third period, you better hustle."

He turned his eyes to her and smiled. "Nothing ever escapes you, does it?"

"Not when it comes to knowing you and your thought process." She laid a hand on his. "Go on, I'll see you later."

"Going anywhere today?"  
>"Nope, I'll be here. Maybe Samuel and I will start trying to clean up that TP from the tree." She laughed.<p>

"Don't worry. It'll get taken care of, one way or another." He stood, kissed her temple, and moved toward the door. "Bye, Sammy. You be good for Mommy!" He ruffled his hair and left the house.

He drove with the window open, arm resting on the door, the sun beating down on it. It felt good after being cooped up in the hospital. The high school wasn't far from their house, so it took very little time to get there, but Sam had one stop to make before he arrived. He parked in the visitors' lot and went straight to the office, passing a hall monitor on the way.

"Nice to see you up and around, Mr. Axe," the older man said as he waved and smiled at Sam.

"It's good to be up and around, believe me!" Sam waved to him and kept going. The halls were empty, as they should be at this time of day. The office was also empty, except for a couple of teens sitting in chairs near the door waiting to visit their guidance counselors...or the principal.

"Mr. Axe! This is a surprise!" Mr. Larkin's secretary greeted him cheerfully. "It's good to see you looking well."

"Thanks. I just stopped by to drop off these keys." Sam held them up and dropped them into her hand. "I, uh, hope that things are going well in the class. Mr. Hamlin wasn't too upset about my change in curriculum, was he?"

"No, he just went back to the usual plan that he's been teaching for years."

Sam nodded. _No wonder my coming in was like a breath of fresh air for those kids! _"Well, if there's nothing else...I guess I'll be off."

"Actually, Mr. Larkin did ask me to hold you up for a minute if you came in. He wants to talk to you." She glanced at her watch. "He'll be in a consult for another ten minutes or so, if you'd like to go visit your classroom for a few minutes..." She grinned at him.

"Yeah, I would. Thanks." He returned the smile, turned, and left the office. He had to keep himself from hurrying down the hall the short distance to the room, not just because he wanted to see the kids one more time. He had something special for them.

The door was closed, but he could see through the large window that Mr. Hamlin stood in front of the desk lecturing. His voice droned through the door. Sam glanced to the left and spied several of his kids looking as if they were about to nod off. Then one of them saw him. Her face lit up and she waved. Mr. Hamlin saw her reaction, said something, and followed her line of sight. He scowled at Sam and strode to the door.

"Sir, you have to check in at the office..."

"Mr. Axe!" Several students exclaimed when they saw him.

Sam grinned from ear to ear. "Sorry, Mr. Hamlin. I was your replacement when you were out. Sam Axe."

"Oh yeah, the private muscle that Larkin brought in." Hamlin looked him up and down with growing disdain. "I had a handle on my classroom, I didn't need some outsider stirring things up even more."

"Yeah, well, Mr. Larkin hired us and we got the job done. You should be grateful things have settled down in your classroom." He paused. "They have, haven't they?"

"Yes, everything is fine now."

"Mr. Axe, aren't you coming in?"

"Yeah, let him in!"

"Come on, man, we wanna see him!"

"Sounds like you're a popular man, Mr. Axe." Hamlin sighed and grudgingly stepped aside to let Sam enter the classroom. Cheers and whistles erupted all around, and some stamped their feet on the wood flooring.

Sam could feel his face warming up at the attention. He stopped in front of the desk, held out his hand, and urged them to settle down. They obeyed quickly, and Hamlin watched in what could only be envy.

"Are you coming back permanently?"

"Please, please come back!"

He stood there shaking his head. "Sorry, everyone, I'm just here to visit." A huge groan filled the room. "If it were up to you, yeah, maybe I would. But I have other work to do...which reminds me, there's something I need to talk to you about."

He turned to face the desk, dropped a plastic sack on it, and pulled something out. Then he turned around, holding the end of it, and let the roll of toilet paper fly over the kids' heads. He was rewarded with laughter and shrieks, and girls holding up their arms to avoid getting hit. A boy in back picked up the roll and started tossing it around to others while Hamlin looked as if he was ready to have a fit. Sam stood with arms crossed waiting until they were done.

"Now, who's going to fess up to doing that to my oak tree?"

They laughed, and a couple boys in back raised their hands. "It wasn't just us. Some of the kids from the other periods helped!"

"Well, I appreciate your being honest," Sam said and added, "I'd appreciate it even more if you came over to my house after school and cleaned it up. Every last square inch."

Groans followed his request, but in the end, they promised to be there.

"Good, because my neighbor lady would have a fit otherwise! And you guys are lucky she didn't call the cops, because she's the neighborhood watch captain, and she keeps her eyes peeled on everything that happens on our block." He picked up the empty bag and gave it to the girl in front. "You might want to use this to take care of the mess in here."

"Alright, class, I want this cleaned up right now," Hamlin ordered as he gave Sam an irritated glance.

"Sorry. I should have known they'd get a little out of hand."

"Next time you want to visit my classroom...don't."

"You got it." Sam turned toward the door and hesitated. "Hey, you guys take care, and listen to your teacher, Mr. Hamlin." He waved and left the room on a chorus of goodbyes that made his eyes water. He was just doing a job. He didn't expect to be so well liked during the process.

When he returned to the office, Mr. Larkin was free to see him. "Sam, come on in," he welcomed with a big smile and a hearty handshake. "You want anything? Coffee?"

"Sure, that'll be great." He took the seat Larkin offered him and the coffee cup. "So, what did you want to see me about?"

"I was interested in finding out how you were doing. The last time I saw you, well, you were in a coma."

"Ah, I'm wide awake now," Sam replied with a grin.

"Trudy told me she sent you to the classroom."

"Yeah. I guess they were kind of glad to see me," he replied with a laugh. "Mr. Hamlin, not so much."

"Yes. I don't think the cruise did much for his demeanor." The two men laughed. "Since you were hospitalized, a lot has been happening around here."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, Joel, Nick, and the other boys in the gang were caught by police. They were on the freeway trying to head north after they threw you into the pool. One of them had an aunt or a grandma or something in Fort Lauderdale. They were arrested for attempted murder and are now sitting in county jail waiting for their trial." Larkin took a sip of his coffee. "Have the police questioned you about what happened?"

"Not yet. I've been asked to see a Lieutenant Cochran at the station, so I'm on my way there after this. If I don't run out of energy first." He shook his head and drank some coffee. "I'm still not back to normal. I certainly couldn't do a 200 yard race against Joel today."

"Just take it easy. You'll get there." He tapped the side of his ceramic cup with a fingernail, and it pinged softly. "Sam, the board has asked me to reiterate their offer of a job if you care to get your license."

"I would, but I'm not much for joining a union. Sorry."

Larkin let out a short laugh. "Oh, that was just a baseless argument Sanborn tried to use to scare you. If you want to substitute teach, you don't have to join the union. If this were a public school, you would, but this is a charter school. They forget that sometimes." He smiled. "Technically, you don't even need a license to teach here, just life experience and the skills. And you, my friend, have those. It would be a shame to waste them."

Sam nodded. "I'll have to give it some thought, Carl. When I first walked in here, I thought I was going to hate it, but amazingly enough, I really did enjoy teaching." He glanced at his watch. "I better take off and see that detective soon, because I have a date with my class after school. They'll be pulling all the TP out of my tree."

Larkin's eyes bugged. "They hit your tree?"

Sam laughed. "Yeah, and it's a tall one, but it's okay. I'm sure by the end of the day everyone who was responsible will be there. They're good kids."

"Yes, they are." Larkin stood and escorted Sam to the office door. "Come on by when you get the chance. Maybe if you hang around here long enough, it'll convince you to come back." He grinned, shook his hand, and waved as Sam left the main office door.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Sam's next stop was the station, where he gave Lt. Cochran as detailed a statement as he could regarding his near-drowning. "I'm sorry that wasn't much. I was pretty much unconscious most of the time."

"That's okay, Mr. Axe. We've got plenty of evidence to send these guys to prison for awhile, and the DA is considering trying them as adults due to the severity of the crime." He smirked. "Tying a cement brick to your legs doesn't exactly scream 'accident', like they're claiming."

"They're saying it was an accident?" Sam gaped at him. "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

"Yeah, you know it and I know it, and the jury will know it too. But then, you never know how the defense will spin it." He sighed and shook his head. "I'm really hoping these kids get some serious jail time." He removed himself from his perch on the edge of his desk. "Thanks for coming in and giving me your testimony, Mr. Axe."

"No problem."

On the way home, he remembered that he intended to go to Michael's place to talk to him about a new job that Jack was helping him with, and Sam would take care of the intelligence gathering. But he was beat, and he really just wanted to go home. He was headed that way when his phone rang.

"Hello."

"Sam, I wasn't sure if you'd pick up. I thought your phone got ruined in the pool."

"Yeah, but Eve picked me up a new one. Good thing I bought that insurance on it," Sam said with a laugh. "I have a feeling they're going to hate me every time I wreck a phone and need a new one."

"Well, hopefully that won't happen for awhile, if ever." Michael knew better, but it never hurt to hope. "Anyway, were you planning on stopping by? I have some stuff I want you to track down."

Sam sighed heavily. "Mike, I've had kind of a full afternoon, and I just got out of bed right before lunch. I don't know if I'm up for this yet. Sorry."

"I understand completely. I was surprised that you still wanted in on this so soon. You need to recover."

"Yeah, and you need to spend some time with Fi and Lucas."

"I am." Silence followed his short denial.

"Mike, I really need to hang up and drive. We'll talk about this later. Tomorrow, in fact. I'll be there at nine, if that works for you."

"Sure. I'll see what we can get done before then."

By the time Sam arrived home, he felt as if he'd run to the Keys and back. He carefully pulled his car into the garage, parked, and let his head fall back on the headrest for a few minutes.

"Honey, are you okay?"

Sam opened his eyes and saw Maddie standing there. "Oh, Maddie, hi! I'm, uh, just tired."

"You're doing too much, aren't you? Didn't Yvette tell you to take it easy?" She gave him the Mom stare, the laser glare that Michael received when he was pushing himself too hard.

"She did. I just had a little business to take care of." He got out of the car, closed the garage door, and slipped out the side door with Maddie following close behind.

"The only business you should have right now is with your pillow, Sam! You almost died, and your family needs you to get healthy. Get in that house right now and go to bed!" She pointed at the back door.

He returned her gaze with tired eyes. "Thanks for nagging me, Maddie, but I was already planning on getting some rest before the kids came over."

"Kids? The kids from school?"

"Yeah. They're going to clean up the mess they made in front."

"I see. Well, they're already here, and some girl is supervising. You don't have to watch over them, they've got it under control." She turned him and pushed him gently toward the door. "So go on and get your rest!"

Sam shook his head at Maddie's demanding tone. And she wouldn't be happy until she knew he was upstairs, because she followed him to the second floor, parading past a surprised Yvette.

"Maddie..."

"Just making sure you listen to me. Don't forget, I'm your mother now!" She said it with a finger pointed at him.

"Yeah, yeah." He dropped onto the bed, kicked off his shoes, and lay down. He folded his hands over his stomach and closed his eyes. "Happy...Ma?"

She grinned, which Sam couldn't see with his eyes closed, but he could hear the triumphant tone in her voice. "Yes, I am. Sweet dreams, honey." She patted his shoulder and left the room.

As he lay there dozing, Sam heard the group of kids outside talking, laughing, and every once in awhile, a girl screeched. They were at it a long time, and he wondered how much longer it would take. Mrs. Petersen was probably livid by now, between her worrying about the hoodlums and the mess, and the sounds of life outside his window interrupting her afternoon television. Either he fell asleep for awhile, or the kids were finished, because he suddenly realized that it was quiet outside.

Sam got up and moved to the window. The sun was sinking in the west and a few kids were still on the lawn raking up the last of the toilet paper. He glanced at the tree and was impressed at the work they did. Other than a few pieces clinging to leaves here and there, it was completely clean.

"Hey, Mr. Axe!" Meghan looked up at the window, grinned and waved.

"Meghan, you were involved in this?" He couldn't believe it!

"Yeah, Jill and I came up with the idea, and the others just went along with it."

"I hope this ends your tp'ing career."

She laughed. "It wasn't as much fun pulling it down. I don't think I'll be doing this again any time soon."

With the last of the paper picked up, the kids said goodbye and left. Sam sat on the window seat and watched the last of the sun's rays break through the leaves and slowly disappear over the horizon. He was still tired, so he decided to skip supper and just go to bed.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Sam had a better night and was more rested the next day. Still, he decided to confine his activity to going to Mike's only, and he took Yvette and Samuel along so they could visit with Fiona and the baby.

"Hey Mike, we're here," Sam announced as he opened the door to the loft and they let themselves inside. He looked around, seeing Michael intently studying something at the bar, but Fiona and Lucas were nowhere in sight. "Mike, where's Fi?"

Michael's head came up with a start. "Sam! Sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

Sam glanced at him sideways. This was not the Michael Westen he knew, and when he saw the dark circles under his eyes, he had an idea why. "Lots of late night surveillance?"

"No. I'm suffering from lack of sleep for a different reason." He rubbed his eyes and noticed Yvette and Samuel were also there. He nodded to them. "Fiona took Lucas out for a little stroll, but she should be back soon."

"Okay. Why don't we go down and wander around outside until Fiona comes back," Yvette suggested, looking down at Samuel. Then she glanced up at the two men. "It'll give you a chance to talk." She smiled and led Samuel out of the loft.

"So, Mike, what's causing the lack of sleep, if you don't mind my asking?" Sam went to the fridge and pulled out a can of soda. He would have had a beer, but he was driving, and he still wasn't up to full strength.

"I knew you'd ask." Michael smiled and massaged his temples. "Lucas. He doesn't sleep when we want him to, and it seems like he's...always...crying." He let out a frustrated sound and pressed his eyes into the heels of his hands.

"They do that when they're babies, although Samuel was pretty good about sleeping. He slept a lot."

"And every night he fusses. The only thing that'll settle him down is walking around with him, rocking him. Then when we think he's out, and we put him into the bassinet, he starts all over again."

Sam could tell by the helplessness in Michael's voice that he was at the end of his rope. He felt for his friend, even though he and Yvette had been fortunate that Samuel was a good baby.

"My mom says it's payback for all the trouble I gave her." He turned his bloodshot eyes to Sam. "I sure hope she's not right, or I..." He shook his head. "I don't think I'll make it. I'd rather deal with Larry than Lucas right now, Sam." His brow crinkled. "Does that make me a bad father?"

_I don't want to be like my father. _Sam remembered Michael saying that on more than one occasion during Fi's pregnancy. Now, as he looked at Michael agonizing over this situation, he saw the fear in his eyes. It didn't have to come to this, Michael Westen being defeated by a little baby. They would come up with a solution somehow. They always did.

"So you're taking jobs, trying to get out of the house and away from the crying."

"I know, it's not fair to Fi. She seems to have more tolerance for it than I do. That's why she's out with Lucas taking him for a walk in the stroller. She knew I needed a break."

"Have you taken him to the doctor? Maybe something's wrong for him to be crying all the time."

"We did. The doctor said maybe it was colic." He saw Sam cringe. "Not good, I take it."

"I've heard that can be bad." Sam sat next to Michael on the other stool and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you and Fi need a break. Take a night out."

"And who'll watch the screaming devil child?"

"Come on, Mike, he's not that bad!" Sam was starting to get worried about him. He squeezed his shoulder. "Tell you what...Eve and I will take Lucas home with us, and we'll bring him back tomorrow. That'll give you and Fi some time to decompress, get some rest."

"But Sam, you need..."

"Never mind what I need! My best friend is having a crisis right now, and for everyone's sake, you need to have some time out." He calmed himself, realizing that his voice was raised, and gently jostled him. "Come on, brother. We'll put the car seat in our vehicle, take him home with us, and see if we can figure out something to make things a little less stressful for you two when he comes back. What do you say?"

"You don't have a crib anymore."

"Not a problem. I'll convert the toddler bed back into a crib for the night and Samuel can sleep with us. Just one night is not going to spoil him."

Michael took a deep breath and let it out, his shoulders caving with the effort. "Okay, Sam, but only if Fi and Yvette are okay with it."

Sam grinned as he patted his shoulder. "Look at that, you're already relaxing! They'll be okay with it, I'm sure."

Fiona was not okay with it. "Sam, Lucas can't be away all night, let alone a couple of hours!"

"Why's that?"

She glanced at Yvette, Michael, and finally Sam before answering self-consciously. "Because I'm breastfeeding, that's why!"

"Ohhhh," Sam replied as he nodded in comprehension, and he couldn't help but notice what he hadn't really paid attention to before. She'd filled out a little in certain areas, even as she kept her slim figure. "Don't you ever, um...stock up just in case?"

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do, but..."

"No buts about it." Sam reached out and took Lucas from Fiona's arms. He was quiet but getting fussy. "Sometimes when Samuel had an upset tummy, I'd carry him around like this." He turned Lucas over onto his stomach on his forearm. Then he tucked him close to his body and rocked him gently.

Fiona watched, amazed that Lucas's fussiness went away. "I'll have to try that next time."

"So, are you convinced that we can take care of Lucas, while you two have a night of peace and quiet, and get some decent rest?"

She let out a deep sigh, and he knew she was still reluctant to leave her baby in someone else's hands, even if they were Sam and Yvette's capable, experienced hands.

"Pack up some of that milk and we'll be out of here ASAP."

"Fi," Michael said as he looked at her, silently imploring her to take the offer. "You know we both need this."

"But Michael, I don't want..." Emotion caught her voice. "I don't want to have to rely on people to take care of him every time he's a little difficult."

"It's okay, Fi," Yvette said as she approached her and put an arm around her. "We know you're strong, but you can't let yourselves suffer alone. Your friends and family are here to help you."

It took some more convincing, but finally Fiona gave in. She packed up what she could and made Yvette promise to call if she needed more milk and supplies. "We'll call."

"Day or night?" She locked onto Yvette's eyes, seeking her answer in them.

Yvette smiled in reassurance. "We'll call, don't worry!" She cradled Lucas in her arms and took him down to their car. Sam and Michael installed the car seat while she and Fiona talked.

"Call if there's an emergency," Michael urged Sam. "Call if you can't stand it anymore!"

Sam held a laugh in check, and instead gave him a smile. "Don't worry, Mike, we'll take good care of him. You guys just enjoy yourselves. Hey, go out for dinner or something. Just leave everything to us!"

When they were on the street, Yvette glanced at Sam. "Sam, I'm glad I came with you. Those two were nearly basket cases, and that was brilliant suggesting we take Lucas for the night."

"I just hope we didn't bring a heap of frustration on ourselves. I mean, it was scary watching Mike. That's just not him!"

"I know. It'll be good for them to have the night to themselves. And it'll be nice to have a wee little one in the house again, if only for a little while." She glanced behind them and watched Samuel playing with Lucas's toes. She sighed. _If only we could have one more!_

While Yvette settled all of Lucas's things, Sam changed the bed into a crib. Samuel watched with his hands clasped tightly behind his back, a look of anxiety on his face. He turned to pick up a wrench and he saw him.

"What's the matter, Sammy? This is only for one night. Your cousin Lucas needs a place to sleep."

"Where'm I gonna sleep?"

"You can stay with your Mommy and me tonight. But only for tonight!" He saw the light in Samuel's eyes and knew he had to make sure it was clear from the beginning.

"Daddy."

"Yes, Sammy?" He tightened the last bolt.

"When is bedtime?"


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"Michael, I can't do this." Fiona lay wide awake, staring at the ceiling.

"Me neither. As crazy as it sounds, I miss his cry." He lay with his hands cradling the back of his head, all the while wishing his hands were holding his child.

"Are we bad parents?" A sob worked its way up into Fi's throat. "Are we doing something wrong that he cries so much?"

She burst into tears, which was so unlike her. He could understand it, though, because they were both on edge after so many sleep deprived nights. There was only so much a body could take. He'd been trained to see the signs. And with the pregnancy hormones still being flushed out of Fi's system, it didn't take much to send her over the edge. He wished he had that kind of excuse.

Michael rolled to his side and took her into his arms. She clung to him and spent her sorrow quickly. Her tears wet his bare chest, but he didn't care. He just wanted everything to be okay, to be normal, to be like things were when Sam and Yvette brought Samuel home. He was a good baby. Why couldn't they have been so lucky? He wondered about what Maddie said, that this was payback. _Was I really that bad? And if I was, could my actions have contributed to my dad's behavior?_ He shook that thought out of his head. Even if true, it was no reason for Frank to take out his anger on his kids. No, there was a lot more to his rage than cranky babies.

"I want him home, Fi. I can't sleep, and I won't get to sleep until Lucas is back home."

"I know." She pulled back and looked up at him in the dim glow coming in from the street lights. "Can we get dressed, go to Sam's and pick him up? Right now?"

Michael glanced over her shoulder. "It's 2 a.m., but if they're having a night like the kind of nights we've been having, they'll probably be glad to get him off their hands." He released her, and they both shot out of bed, racing to get dressed.

He had to keep himself from speeding through the streets to Sam's, and when he parked beside the house, he studied it. "It's dark." Fi nodded and got out. He followed her to the back door and they knocked. "It's quiet. No crying, and the windows are open." He fought to keep the panic out of his voice. "Fi, what did they do to Lucas?"

"I..."

The porch light went on, and the back door opened. Sam stood before them in pajamas, his hair mussed, and he yawned. "Mike! Fi! What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Suddenly, he was wide awake.

"We're fine, Sam," Michael assured him. "However, we decided that we couldn't survive the night without Lucas. We want to take him home."

"Seriously? He's settled in and sleeping like...well, like a baby."

"He's asleep?" Michael and Fiona glanced at each other, shocked. "How'd you do it, Sam?"

"Come on in," he replied and held open the screen. Sam led them upstairs in the dim light from the living room. At the top of the stairs, the hall light was on, and he ushered them into Samuel's room, which was illuminated by a dim night light. In hushed tones, he said, "You're not gonna believe this, but this here is the solution to your problem." He placed his hand on the crib rail.

Michael looked down at Lucas sleeping in the middle of it. He looked so angelic, he could hardly believe it was their son, so he reached out a hand and gently caressed his arm and cheek. "It's him, Fi. Sam, I don't understand."

"It's time to graduate to the crib, Mikey. He doesn't like sleeping in the bassinet. It's too confining. We put him down when I finished setting up the crib, and he went right to sleep. After his nap he was a happy little kid. When he got tired in the afternoon, we put him down in the crib again, and bam!, he was out. No fussiness, no crying, no having to walk him around. Same thing tonight." He paused and smiled. "Eve thinks he wasn't getting proper sleep, so he was overtired, which affected his digestion and made him cranky."

"A crib. You're trying to tell me it's as simple as that?"

"Exactly. So, if you want to take him home, fine. Just take our pack and play along for tonight, and I'll bring the crib over tomorrow. You can use it, and we'll get Samuel a big kid's bed. He's ready for it."

Fiona leaned over the crib as they talked, gently stroking Lucas's hair. "Sam, thank you. I feel like such an idiot that we didn't figure it out ourselves."

"Hey, it was just an accident we did! I'm glad it was so simple."

"Thanks, Sam."

"No problem, brother. Hey, let's go get the car seat put back in the Charger." The two left the room, and Fiona stayed to love her son.

The next day Sam brought the crib to the loft, and after he and Michael set it up, Sam said, "Okay, while I'm here, let's get down to business. You had a job you wanted me to help with?"

"Yeah, about that. I decided not to take that job after all."

"What? I thought you were already into it."

"No." Michael inclined his head, silently asking Sam to meet him out on the balcony.

"What's going on, Mike?"

"Sam, I'm sorry. There was no job. I was just looking for another excuse to get out of the house." He leaned on the rail, hanging his head. "Sam, I was afraid if I had to put up with any more of that, I was..." He couldn't even finish what he wanted to say, but he didn't have to. Sam knew how he would finish the sentence. "I didn't want to turn into my father."

"Well, no worries now, Mikey. Listen to that." He cocked an ear, and there was silence. "Not guaranteeing he won't ever cry again, but as far as the serious wailing, that's over and done with."

"I know. Thanks to you both." He smiled, and relief showed on his face. "I still can't believe how easy it was. Now I can feel good about taking some time off to be with Fi and Lucas." He turned to Sam. "So if you want any work, you and Jack will have to do it yourselves."

"No problem, Mike. I miss working with you and Fi, but Jack's a good guy. We were part of a great team back in the day, and I think we can work something out."

"Good. Otherwise, you could always go back to substitute teaching...Mr. Axe."

Sam laughed. "What is it with everybody lately? They all want me to go back to school. It was fun for awhile, but I don't know." He joined Michael in leaning on the railing. "Maybe I'll have to give it some more thought."

"You do that, Sam." He sighed in contentment, and then heard a sound come from the crib not far from the open doors. "Sounds like somebody wants attention." He straightened, turned, and entered the loft. "Hey look who's awake? How are you, Luke?"

Through the doors, Sam saw Michael pick up Lucas and give him a kiss. Fiona stopped beside him and caressed the baby's head. That was one beautiful picture, and he was sure to remember it for a long time. Michael Westen, he used to be a super spy...now he was a super dad.


End file.
